Spread spectrum coded waveforms in ultrasound imaging

An acoustic waveform imaging system, comprising:

• a waveform generation unit comprising one or more waveform synthesizers coupled to a waveform generator, wherein the waveform generation unit synthesizes a composite waveform comprising a plurality of substantially orthogonal coded waveforms corresponding to frequency bands that are generated by the one or more waveform synthesizers according to waveform information provided by the waveform generator, the coded waveforms including at least one of frequency-coded waveforms or phase-coded waveforms;
• a transmit/receive switching unit that switches between a transmit mode and a receive mode;
• an array of transducer elements in communication with the transmit/receive switching unit that transmits an acoustic waveform based on the composite waveform toward a target and receives a returned acoustic waveform returned from at least part of the target;
• an array of analog to digital (A/D) converters to convert the received returned acoustic waveform received by the array of transducer elements from analog format to digital format as a received composite waveform comprising information comprising information of the target;
• a controller unit in communication with the waveform generation unit and the array of A/D converters comprising a processing unit that processes the received composite waveform to produce an image of at least part of the target;
• and
• a user interface unit in communication with the controller unit.

A method of creating an image from an acoustic waveform, comprising:

• setting a transmit/receive switch into transmit mode;
• selecting a mode of operation from a plurality of operating modes;
• synthesizing, in one or more waveform synthesizers, a plurality of substantially orthogonal coded waveforms that form a composite waveform, wherein each coded waveform corresponds to a distinct frequency band, the coded waveforms including at least one of frequency-coded waveforms or phase-coded waveforms;
• transmitting an acoustic waveform based on the composite waveform toward a target;
• setting the transmit/receive switch into receive mode;
• receiving a returned acoustic waveform returned from at least part of the target;
• converting the received returned acoustic waveform from analog format to digital format as a received composite waveform comprising information of the target;
• and
• processing the received composite waveform to produce an image of at least part of the target.

A method of creating an image from an acoustic waveform, comprising:

• combining a plurality of coded waveforms corresponding to different frequency bands to produce a composite waveform comprising substantially orthogonal wave signals at the different frequency bands, the coded waveforms including at least one of frequency-coded waveforms or phase-coded waveforms;
• using the composite waveform to produce an acoustic probe wave that includes the different frequency bands toward a target;
• receiving acoustic energy returned from at least part of the target after the acoustic probe wave is sent to the target;
• converting the received returned acoustic energy into a digital composite waveform comprising information of the target;
• and
• processing the received composite waveform to produce an image of at least part of the target.

A device for creating an image from an acoustic waveform, comprising:

• means for combining a plurality of coded waveforms corresponding to different frequency bands to produce a composite waveform comprising substantially orthogonal wave signals at the different frequency bands, the coded waveforms including at least one of frequency-coded waveforms or phase-coded waveforms;
• means for using the composite waveform to produce an acoustic probe wave that includes the different frequency bands toward a target;
• means for receiving acoustic energy returned from at least part of the target after the acoustic probe wave is sent to the target;
• means for converting the received returned acoustic energy into a digital composite waveform comprising information of the target;
• and
• means for processing the received composite waveform to produce an image of at least part of the target.