System and method for assessing body-tissue properties using a medical ultrasound transducer probe with a body-tissue parameter measurement mechanism

A medical diagnostic ultrasound probe, comprising:

• one or more ultrasound imaging transducer elements for imaging a field of view within a body-tissue;
• and
• a body-tissue parameter measurement mechanism on the probe and being at least in part separate from the transducer elements for measuring a body-tissue parameter at least at one point in the field of view;
• wherein the body-tissue parameter mechanism comprises at least one force, pressure, stress, or strain sensing mechanism which obtains data for a force, pressure, stress, or strain map or graph;
• and
• wherein the data is used to compute a body-tissue modulus.

A medical diagnostic ultrasound probe, comprising:

• one or more ultrasound imaging transducer elements for imaging a field of view within a body-tissue;
• and
• a body-tissue parameter measurement mechanism on the probe and being at least in part separate from the transducer elements for measuring a body-tissue parameter at least at one point in the field of view;
• wherein the body-tissue parameter measurement mechanism includes a plurality of electrodes.

A medical diagnostic ultrasound system for imaging body-tissue, comprising:

• a principle ultrasound imaging transducer element with a field of view including body-tissue;
• a secondary ultrasound imaging transducer element non-parallel to the principle ultrasound imaging transducer element;
• a body-tissue parameter measurement mechanism for measuring, or measuring data for computing, at least one body-tissue parameter at least at one point in the field of view of the principal ultrasound imaging transducer element;
• and
• a display device to display ultrasound images in association with at least one measured or computed body-tissue parameter.

A method for using an ultrasound imaging transducer with a body-tissue parameter measurement mechanism, comprising:

• imaging ultrasound images with an ultrasound imaging transducer;
• and
• measuring body-tissue parameter information with a body-tissue parameter measurement mechanism, the body-tissue parameter information derived from data free of acoustic echo information;
• wherein imaging includes Doppler imaging.

A method for using an ultrasound imaging transducer with a body-tissue parameter measurement mechanism, comprising:

• imaging ultrasound images with an ultrasound imaging transducer;
• and
• measuring body-tissue parameter information with a body-tissue parameter measurement mechanism, the body-tissue parameter information derived from data free of acoustic echo information;
• wherein imaging includes imaging body tissue movement in and out of a field of view of the ultrasound imaging transducer.

A method for using an ultrasound imaging transducer with a body-tissue parameter measurement mechanism, comprising:

• imaging ultrasound images with an ultrasound imaging transducer;
• and
• measuring body-tissue parameter information with a body-tissue parameter measurement mechanism, the body-tissue parameter information derived from data free of acoustic echo information;
• wherein measuring body-tissue includes displacing body-tissue by electric stimulation of body-tissue by one or more electrodes.

A method for using an ultrasound imaging transducer with a body-tissue parameter measurement mechanism, comprising:

• imaging ultrasound images with an ultrasound imaging transducer;
• and
• measuring body-tissue parameter information with a body-tissue parameter measurement mechanism, the body-tissue parameter information derived from data free of acoustic echo information;
• wherein measuring body-tissue includes measuring an electrical impedance of body-tissue by a plurality of electrodes.