Method and system for PDA-based ultrasound system
AssigneeGE Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC
InventorsMenachem Halmann, Shinichi Amemiya
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Abstract
A method and system are disclosed for a compact, inexpensive ultrasound system using an off-the-shelf personal digital assistant (PDA) device interfacing to a hand-held probe assembly through a standard digital interface. The hand-held probe assembly comprises a detachable transducer head attached to a beamforming module that performs digital beamforming. The PDA runs Windows applications and displays menus and images to a user. The PDA also runs ultrasound data processing software to support a plurality of imaging modes. An internal battery is provided in the PDA to power the system. The transducer head is detachable from the beamforming module.
Claims25
A method of ultrasound imaging, said method comprising:
- attaching a detachable transducer head to a beamforming module to form a hand-held probe assembly that includes said beamforming module and said detachable transducer head;
- receiving ultrasound signals with said hand-held probe assembly from a region of interest to generate a plurality of received digital signals within said hand-held probe assembly;
- digitally beamforming said plurality of received digital signals within said hand-held probe assembly to generate at least one beam of digital data corresponding to said region of interest;
- transmitting said at least one beam of digital data to a commercially available personal digital assistant (PDA) over a standard digital interface, wherein said PDA includes software to perform ultrasound data processing functions including:
- demodulation, parameter estimation, scan conversion, and display processing.
A system for performing ultrasound imaging, said system comprising:
- a beamforming module for performing ultrasound signal processing functions including digital beamforming;
- a detachable transducer head attaching to said beamforming module to form a hand-held probe assembly;
- and a commercially available personal digital assistant (PDA) connecting to said hand-held probe assembly through a standard digital interface wherein said PDA includes an electronic processor for processing computer software to perform ultrasound data processing functions, including:
- demodulation, parameter estimation, scan conversion, and display processing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.