Ultrasonic doppler power measurement and display system

A method of determining a Doppler power index for fluid flow in a region of the body which is imaged in a color power Doppler display comprising the steps of:

• acquiring ultrasonic signals containing Doppler information;
• processing said ultrasonic signals to develop a color power Doppler display in which the Doppler power intensity at spatial locations within the display is indicated by different colors;
• designating a region of said display for which a Doppler power index is to be measured;
• and
• displaying a power index which is a function of the power Doppler intensities displayed within said region.

A method of determining the flow profile of a fluid in a body cavity which is displayed in an ultrasonic color power Doppler display comprising the steps of:

• acquiring ultrasonic signals containing Doppler information;
• processing said ultrasonic signals to develop a color power Doppler display in which the Doppler power intensity at spatial locations within the display is indicated by different colors;
• assigning quantified measures of Doppler power intensity to said different colors;
• designating a region of said color power Doppler display over which a flow profile is to be measured;
• and
• displaying a sequence of said quantified measures corresponding to the colors of said designated region.

An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system for quantitatively measuring Doppler power intensity at selected locations in the body comprising:

• an ultrasonic probe for acquiring ultrasonic signals containing Doppler information;
• a Doppler signal processor for processing said ultrasonic signals to develop a color power Doppler display of a region of the body in which the Doppler power intensity at spatial locations within the display is indicated by different colors;
• means for assigning quantified measures of Doppler power intensity to said different colors;
• a user control for designating a location in said color power Doppler display at which a Doppler power measurement is to be made;
• and
• means for displaying the quantified measure assigned to the color corresponding to the displayed color at said location.

An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system for quantitatively measuring Doppler power in a color power Doppler image of a region of the body of a patient comprising:

• an ultrasonic probe for acquiring ultrasonic signals containing Doppler information;
• a Doppler signal processor for processing said ultrasonic signals to develop a color power Doppler display of said region of the body in which the Doppler power intensity at spatial locations within the display is indicated by color variations;
• means for assigning quantified measures of Doppler power to said color variations;
• a user control for designating a region of said color power Doppler display from which a measurement of Doppler power;
• and
• a measurement and display system, responsive to said designation of a region of said color power Doppler display which computes a quantified measure of the Doppler power of said region.