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US 5,379,642 AGranted
Method and apparatus for performing imaging
AssigneeDiasonics Ultrasound, Inc.
InventorsWilbur A. Reckwerdt, Sved O. Ishrak, Wanqun Bao
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An ultrasound imaging system for performing dynamic focusing of ultrasonic waves during transmit and receive. The present invention includes a method and a means for transmitting ultrasonic waves to a multiple depths within a body. The present invention optimizes the transmit frequency for each of the multiple depths to localize the energy of the ultrasonic waves. The present invention also includes a method and means for performing dynamic receive focusing of the reflected ultrasonic waves produced by discontinuities in the body, such that it is focused to receive ultrasonic waves from the depth at which the transmitted ultrasonic waves are focused.
Claims42
A method of imaging an object using energy waves, said method comprising the steps of:
- (i) selecting a plurality of focal depths within the object, wherein each of said plurality of focal depths corresponds to one of a plurality of zones, and further wherein each of said plurality of zones has a depth and a lateral length that is substantially perpendicular to the depth;
- and
- (ii) sending a plurality of energy waves to one of said plurality of zones as a plurality of scan lines transmitted one at a time across the lateral length of said one of the plurality of zones, wherein the energy waves are focused at said one of the plurality of focal depths within the object, such that the waves are reflected from discontinuities within the object to produce a plurality of echo signals, wherein said one of the plurality of zones, corresponding to said one of the plurality of focal depths, is scanned along the entire lateral length before focusing at focal depths other than said one of the plurality of focal depths;
- (iii) receiving the plurality of echo signals;
- (iv) performing steps (ii) and (iii) for each one of the plurality of zones;
- and
- (v) generating an image of the object in response to the plurality of echos signals.
4 more elements
A method of imaging an object using ultrasonic waves, said method comprising the steps of:
- (i) selecting a plurality of focal depths within the object, wherein each of said plurality of focal depths corresponds to one of a plurality of zones, and further wherein each of said plurality of zones has a depth and a lateral length that is substantially perpendicular to the depth;
- and
- (ii) sending a plurality of ultrasonic waves to one of the plurality of zones as a plurality of scan lines transmitted one at a time across the lateral length of said one of the plurality of zones, wherein the ultrasonic waves are focused at said one of the plurality of focal depths within the object, such that the waves are reflected from discontinuities within the object to produce a plurality of echo signals, such that said one of the plurality of zones corresponding to said one of the plurality of focal depths is scanned along the entire lateral length before focusing at focal depths other than said one of the plurality of focal depths, and wherein the ultrasonic waves, successively fired for said one of the plurality of zones as each zone is scanned from one side of the lateral length to the other, are spaced a predetermined distance apart;
- (iii) receiving the plurality of echo signals;
- (iv) performing steps (ii) and (iii) for each one of the plurality of zones;
- and
- (v) generating an image of the object in response to the plurality of echos signals.
4 more elements
A method for scanning an object using energy waves and a transducer with a transducer face having a number of lateral segments, said method comprising the steps of:
- selecting a plurality of focal depths within the object, such that a plurality of zones are chosen for imaging, wherein each of the lateral segments of the transducer face transmits energy waves to a distinct region of each of the zones;
- and
- sending a plurality of energy waves to each of the plurality of zones, wherein the energy waves are focused at each of the plurality of focal depths, such that the waves are reflected from discontinuities within the object to produce a plurality of echo signals, wherein the step of sending the plurality of energy waves includes varying the vector density for each of the plurality of regions in each of the plurality of zones based on a frame rate, such that the object is scanned.
A method for scanning an object using energy waves using a transducer with a transducer face having a number of later segments, said method comprising the steps of:
- selecting a plurality of focal depths within the object, such that a plurality of zones are chosen for imaging, wherein each of the lateral segments transmits energy waves to a distinct region of each of the zones;
- sending a plurality of energy waves to each of the plurality of zones, wherein the energy waves are focused at each of the plurality of focal depths, such that the waves are reflected from discontinuities within the object to produce a plurality of echo signals, and wherein the object is scanned in a direction, wherein the step of sending the plurality of energy waves includes varying the vector density for each of the plurality of regions in each of the plurality of zones, such that the object is scanned;
- varying the vector density, wherein the vector density is reduced if the frame rate is below a predetermined rate and wherein the vector density is increased if the frame rate is above a predetermined rate.
An apparatus for generating an image of an object having discontinuities comprising:
- transmitter means for transmitting a plurality of energy waves to each of a plurality of focal depths within the object, wherein the energy waves are successively fired from the transmitter means, such that the waves are reflected from discontinuities within the object to produce a plurality of echo signals, and further wherein each one of a plurality of zones has a depth and a lateral length that is substantially perpendicular to the depth and corresponding to each one of the plurality of focal depths and is scanned along the lateral length before scanning other zones, such that each of the plurality of zones at each of the plurality of depths are scanned completely one at a time;
- and
- receiver means for receiving the plurality of echo signals from each of the plurality of zones, wherein the receiving means generates the image according to the plurality of echo signals received.
An apparatus for generating an image of an object having discontinuities comprising:
- transmitter means for transmitting a plurality of ultrasound waves to each of a plurality of focal depths within the object, wherein each of the plurality of ultrasound waves for each of a plurality of focal depths is separated by a distance from other ultrasound waves as the plurality of ultrasound waves are fired from one side of the transducer to the other, such that the waves are reflected from discontinuities within the object to produce a plurality of echo signals, and further wherein the plurality of ultrasound waves are sent to each of the plurality of focal depths, such that each of the plurality of zones are scanned one at a time;
- and
- receiver means for receiving the plurality of echo signals from each of the plurality of zones, wherein the receiving means generates the image according to the plurality of echo signals received.
An apparatus for generating an image of an object having discontinuities comprising:
- a transducer, comprising a transducer face, to transmit a plurality of energy waves for each of a plurality of focal depths within the object, such that the waves are reflected from discontinuities within the object to produce a plurality of echo signals;
- a controller coupled to said transducer to control the transducer,
- wherein the transducer face comprises a predetermined number of lateral segments, wherein each of the predetermined number of lateral segments transmits energy waves, to a distinct region of each of the plurality of zones, and wherein the controller causes the energy waves to be transmitted by the transducer so that the energy waves have a vector density that varies for each of the plurality of regions in each of the plurality of zones is varied;
- and
- a receiver, coupled to the transducer to receive the plurality of echo signals from each of the plurality of zones, wherein the receiver generates the image according to the plurality of echo signals received.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.