Siemens Medical Solutions Usa, Inc.

Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation

Daniel Brueske

D-l Donald Liu

Brian Vincent Colby

David A Petersen

Steven R Martin

David Oaks

A low-loss high-voltage multiplexer is implemented using a transformer that is connected to one transmitter, one receiver and transducer elements. At least one primary winding is magnetically coupled at least two secondary windings. For example, a first transducer element and a second transducer element are connected to the secondary windings of a multiplexer that multiplexes between these transducer elements via the secondary windings. The multiplexer also optionally switches between the transmitter and the receiver during the transmission and the reception.

Transformer-based multiplexer for ultrasound imaging system and method

Receive beamformers for receive beamforming ultrasound information include a plurality of channels. The received signals for each channel are oversampled for conversion to digital form, such as sampling with a sigma-delta converter. The reconstruction of the samples into data at the Nyquist or other rate is performed in stages. Partial reconstruction to a rate less than the oversampling rate, but greater than the Nyquist rate, occurs prior to summation across channels. Delays are implemented by selecting data from the sample stream. After summation, the samples are reconstructed at a Nyquist or other rate.

Dynamic receive beamformer with oversampling for medical diagnostic ultrasound

An amplifier has a voltage to current converter coupled between a first potential and a reference potential and includes a control input coupled to a voltage at an input of the amplifier for converting the voltage at the amplifier input into a corresponding output current. A current multiplier is fed by the output current for producing an increased current. The increased current is fed to a control electrode of a transistor. A feedback element provides the first potential to the voltage to current converter by coupling a voltage produced by the feedback element in response current through the transistor to the voltage to current converter.

Amplifier circuit

Ultrasound information for B-mode and CW Doppler mode use the same digital beamformer. Due to sigma-delta conversion or over sampling, sufficient dynamic range is provided for the desired bandwidth. By mixing the input ultrasound information to base band before conversion, additional dynamic range may be provided. The electrical impedance may be better matched to elements by connecting a different number of sigma-delta converters to an element. Elements with lower impedance may be connected to a plurality of sigma-delta converters. To increase the aperture size for elements with a higher impedance, the same sigma-delta converters may be used as separate receive beamformer channels without the summation.

Universal ultrasound sigma-delta receiver path

A system for producing a control signal to a plurality of amplifiers sections to vary the gain of each one of the plurality of amplifier sections as a linear natural logarithmic function of an input gain control signal. The system includes a master circuit for producing a pair of currents with a ratio proportional to the linear natural logarithmic function of the input gain signal and a differential voltage. Each one of the amplifier sections includes: a replica of a portion of the master circuit fed by the produced differential voltage for producing a pair of currents produced in the master circuit; and an amplifier fed by the produced replicated currents, such amplifier having a gain proportional to the ratio of such replicated currents.

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Sammamish, WA, United States of America

Daniel Brueske