Method for creating multiplanar ultrasonic images of a three dimensional object

An apparatus for creating multiplanar ultrasonic images of a volumetric region of an object, comprising:

• an ultrasonic transducer adapted to mechanically sweep across the volumetric region;
• a controller coupled to the transducer and adapted to cause the transducer to transmit, at a plurality of sampling positions during the sweep, ultrasonic beams into the volumetric region which intersect one or more of a plurality of surfaces to be scanned, the beams intersecting at least two surfaces per sweep, the number of transmitted beams during the sweep being fewer than the number of beams that would be transmitted to scan the entire volumetric region;
• and
• a processor coupled to the transducer and adapted to form planar images corresponding to the plurality of surfaces from data acquired by the transducer.

A method for imaging with an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system having an array transducer located in a plane above a volumetric region to produce two or more two dimensional images of surfaces within the volumetric region comprising:

• transmitting beams from the array transducer in cycles to sample points on at least two surfaces within the volumetric region which are located in planes which intersect the plane of the array transducer, the surfaces each having a depth dimension extending away from the array transducer and a lateral dimension extending substantially parallel to the plane of the array transducer, the number of transmitted beams in a cycle being sufficient to produce images of the surfaces and fewer than the number of beams that would be transmitted to scan the entire volumetric region;
• receiving at the array transducer echoes from the surfaces in response to the transmitted beams;
• and
• processing the received echoes to produce planar images corresponding to the surfaces which have a finite lateral dimension at the deepest and shallowest depths of at least one of the planar images.