Ultrasonic imaging method and apparatus with electronic beam focusing and scanning

In a pulsed ultrasonic imaging method for real-time imaging of a section of the interior of an object from reflections from discontinuities within the section of recurrent transmitted pulses of ultrasonic energy,

• receiving by means of a linear transducer array comprising a plurality of adjacent transducer elements reflected wave pulses and converting the same to electrical signals,
• range gating electrical signals from the transducer array to obtain signals of a line segment from any one of a plurality of range zones within the section to be imaged,
• focusing said transducer array at the range zone at which the electrical signals are range gated, and
• scanning said section by scanning each of said range zones to obtain a plurality of separate line segment signals from each zone for use in imaging said section, said transducer array being focused at a single range zone for each pulse transmission of ultrasonic energy.

In a pulsed ultrasonic imaging apparatus for use in imaging a section within an object, which apparatus includes a transducer array and pulse transmitting means for energizing transducer elements of the array for beaming ultrasonic energy pulses into the section,

• beam focusing means for focusing the transducer array at different range zones within the section to be imaged during an imaging process,
• beam scanning means for scanning the section to be imaged,
• range gated signal processing means responsive to the output from the transducer array for processing signals from a single range zone for each energy pulse beamed into the section,
• means for controlling both the beam focusing means and the range gated signal processing means to process signals from only the range zone at which transducer array is focused, and
• means responsive to range gated signals from the signal processing means obtained from a plurality of range zones for visual display of a composite image of the section.