# US 2021/0333379 A1 · Ultrasound system for high-speed and high resolution imaging applications

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 2021/0333379 A1
- Document ID: US20210333379A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 17/305,421
- Filed: 2021-07-07
- Published: 2021-10-28
- Earliest claimed: 2014-12-19
- Assignees: University of Rochester
- Applicants: University of Rochester
- Inventors: Zeljko IGNJATOVIC; Michael HUANG; Swetha GEORGE
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20210333379A1

## CPC

- G01S 7/52047: {for elimination of side lobes or of grating lobes; for increasing resolving power}
- A61B 8/14: Echotomography
- A61B 8/4472: {Wireless probes}
- A61B 8/4483: {characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer}
- A61B 8/5207: {involving processing of raw data to produce diagnostic data, e.g. for generating an image}
- A61B 8/565: {involving data transmission via a network}
- G01S 15/8915: {using a transducer array}
- G01S 15/8918: {the array being linear}
- G01S 15/8959: {using coded signals for correlation purposes}
- G01S 7/003: {Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations}
- G01S 7/52096: {related to power management, e.g. saving power or prolonging life of electronic components (details of power supplies for ultrasonic medical diagnostic imaging devices A61B8/56)}
- G01S 15/8925: {the array being a two-dimensional transducer configuration, i.e. matrix or orthogonal linear arrays}
- G01S 15/8993: {Three dimensional imaging systems}
- G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)

## Abstract

An ultrasound imaging system includes an array of ultrasound transducer elements chat send ultrasound energy into an object when energized for respective transmission time periods and provide responses to ultrasound energy emitted from the object for respective reception time periods, a reception modulation circuit modulating the responses with irregular sequences of modulation coefficients, a combiner circuit combining the modulated responses, and an image reconstruction processor configured to computer-process the combined modulated responses into one or more images of the object.

## Claims

### Claim at position 1

1-10. (canceled)

### Claim 11

An ultrasound imaging system comprising:
a multi-element set of ultrasound transducer elements;
an excitation pulse generator providing a succession of excitation pulses to the transducer elements;
a receiving switch matrix modulating echoes received by the transducer elements in response to the excitation pulses applied to an object, with an essentially random sequence of modulation coefficients;
a circuit summing the modulated echoes in the analog domain; and
an image reconstruction processor configured to computer-process the summed modulated echoes into one or more images of the object.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11, in which the receiving switch matrix modulates the echoes with modulating waveforms having irregular periods.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The system of claim 12, in which the modulating waveforms comprise waveforms of a succession of positive and negative levels.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The system of claim 13, including a differential charge amplifier, wherein the echoes modulated with the positive levels are supplied to a positive input and the echoes modulated with the negative levels are supplied to a negative input of the differential amplifier.

### Claim 15 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11, in which the image reconstruction processor is configured to apply an image matrix to the summed modulated echoes to generate an image of the object.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The system of claim 15, in which the image matrix is selected to relate summed echoes from a known object to an expected image of the object generated with the image reconstruction processor.

### Claim 17 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11, including an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) converting the summed echoes into a digital sequence supplied to the image reconstruction processor.

### Claim 18 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11, further including a transmission switch matrix transmitting each excitation pulse only to a respective, essentially randomly selected subset of the elements in the set.

### Claim at position 10

19-57. (canceled)