Method and apparatus for the characterization of tissue or other structure
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Company
InventorHewlett E. Melton, Jr.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus are provided for determining correlation length of body tissue, metals, crystals, or other materials, substances and the like having an ordered internal stucture (hereinafter structures) and for utilizing such correlation length to test, classify or otherwise characterize the structure. The structure is scanned using standard ultrasonic scanning technology and the output from such scan is processed to determine correlation length in one dimension (length), two dimensions (area), three dimensions (volume). A fourth dimension of time may also be used with one or more of the other three dimensions in the correlation length determination.
Claims20
A system for the characterization of a structure comprising:
- means for ultrasonically scanning the structure to be characterized, said scanning means generating output signals corresponding to pulse echo signals received during each scan by the scanning means for selected points in the structure;
- and
- means responsive to said output signals for determining the correlation length for said structure, said correlation length being a measurable characteristic of the structure.
A method for the characterization of a structure comprising the steps of:
- ultrasonically scanning the structure to be characterized, said scanning step generating an output corresponding to pulse echo signals received during each scan by the scanning step for selected points in the structure;
- and
- utilizing said output to determine the correlation length for said structure, said correlation length being a measurable characteristic of the structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.