Transmitter patterns for multi beam reception

A method of configuring an ultrasound array to transmit a beam pattern sufficient to insonate a region of interest at an internal site of a subject, said method comprising the steps of:

• a) providing an array of ultrasound transducer elements;
• b) outputting a beam pattern from said array of ultrasound transducer elements to insonate a region of interest at an internal site in a body sufficiently large that the beam pattern comprises a multi-beam pattern, insonating multiple receiver elements over a substantially simultaneous period by directing energy produced by said array of ultrasound transducer elements into said region of interest in said body, and adjusting an amplitude of energy output by said array of transducers to cause the beam pattern output to have a generally flat upper pattern and nulls in a grating lobe region;
• and
• c) introducing a phase shift of the beam pattern output from said array of ultrasound transducer elements, wherein a degree of phase shift increases as a distance increases from a central output area of said array of ultrasound transducer elements.

A device for transmitting a multibeam pattern from an array of ultrasound transducer elements sufficient to insonate a region of interest at an internal site in a subject, said device comprising:

• a) an array of ultrasound transducer elements;
• b) means for outputting a multi-beam pattern from said array of ultrasound transducer elements to insonate a region of interest in a body encompassing multiple receiver elements over a substantially simultaneous period by directing energy produced by said array of ultrasound transducer elements into said region of interest in said body and adjusting an amplitude of energy output by said array of transducers to cause the beam pattern output to have a generally flat upper pattern and nulls in a grating lobe region;
• and
• c) means for introducing a propagation time delay of the beam pattern output from said array of ultrasound transducer elements, wherein the propagation delay increases as a distance increases from a central output area of said array of ultrasound transducer elements.

A device for transmitting a multibeam pattern from an array of ultrasound transducer elements sufficient to insonate a region of interest at an internal site in a subject, said device comprising:

• a) an array of ultrasound transducer elements;
• b) means for outputting a multi-beam pattern from said array of ultrasound transducer elements to insonate a region of interest in a body encompassing multiple receiver elements over a substantially simultaneous period by directing energy produced by said array of ultrasound transducer elements into said region of interest in said body and adjusting an amplitude of energy output by said array of transducers to cause the beam pattern output to have a generally flat upper pattern and nulls in a grating lobe region;
• and
• c) means for introducing a phase shift of the beam pattern output from said array of ultrasound transducer elements, wherein a degree of phase shift increases as a distance increases from a central output area of said array of ultrasound transducer elements.

A method for operating an array of ultrasound transducer elements, wherein the element spacing in the array is greater than, equal to or less than a half wavelength of the ultrasound energy produced by the elements, and wherein the array is used differently in transmit and receive modes, comprising:

• forming a transmit beam from a position external to a region of interest encompassing a plurality of receive beams and initially acquiring a signal by insonating a target region comprising multiple receive beam positions over a substantially simultaneous period;
• receiving data from the multiple receive beam positions of the array;
• combining the received data in a processor;
• locking onto the receive beam and the point(s) producing a peak signal;
• and correcting for motions in the target region by periodically forming multiple receive beams and re-acquiring the peak signal.