Method and apparatus for ultrasound imaging of the heart

A system for acquiring imaging data representing an object, the system comprising:

• a receive beamformer operable to acquire first and second sets of images representing an object, the first set of images responsive to a first acoustic window and the second set of images responsive to a second acoustic window separated from the first acoustic window by an opaque barrier;
• a transducer connected with the receive beamformer, the transducer positionable adjacent to the opaque barrier at each of the first and second acoustic windows;
• and
• a first processor operable to combine a first image of the first set of images with a second image of the second set of images.

A method for acquiring data for imaging a dynamic object, the method comprising the acts of:

• (a) acquiring a first set of images representing an object during at least a portion of a physiological cycle, the first set acquired in response to a first imaging parameter;
• (b) acquiring a second set of image representing the object during a same portion of a subsequent physiological cycle, the second set acquired in response to a second imaging parameter, the second imaging parameter different than the first imaging parameter;
• (c) temporally aligning images from the first set with images from the second set as a function of respective phases of the physiological cycle;
• and
• (d) combining the temporally aligned images.

An ultrasound system for acquiring data for imaging a dynamic object, the system comprising:

• a transmit beamformer;
• a receive beamformer for acquiring first and second sets of images representing an object during a portion of physiological cycles, the first set acquired in response to a first imaging parameter and transmissions from the transmit beamformer, the second set acquired in response to a second imaging parameter, the second imaging parameter different than the first imaging parameter;
• a first processor operable to temporally align images from the first set with images from the second set as a function of respective phases of the physiological cycle;
• and
• one of a second processor and the first processor operable to combine the temporally aligned images.