General Electric Company

Ge Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC

Duke University

David Thomas Dubberstein

Steven Charles Miller

Olaf T Von Ramm

Lihong Pan

Richard Yung Chiao

Anne Lindsay Hall

Feng Lin

Christopher Robert Hazard

Yadong Li

Method and apparatus for automatically adjusting a parameter used in the display of a Doppler spectral image comprises acquiring a plurality of spectral lines of Doppler data. A subset of Doppler data is determined from the plurality of spectral lines of Doppler data. A noise characteristic of the subset of Doppler data is calculated, and a signal characteristic of the subset of Doppler data is identified. The noise and signal characteristics are compared, and a system parameter is adjusted based on a result of the comparing step.

Method and apparatus for automatically adjusting spectral doppler gain

A method of performing a scanning sequence for an ultrasound scan includes establishing a number of ultrasound beams to be transmitted during an ultrasound scan, establishing a pulse repetition interval to be used for performing the ultrasound scan, and establishing a number of firings of each of the ultrasound beams to be performed during the ultrasound scan. The method further includes performing a scanning sequence based on a processing of one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of the number of ultrasound beams, the pulse repetition interval, and the number of firings of the ultrasound beams, wherein the processing of the one or more parameters is configured to provide a continuous interleaving in the transmitted beams thereby avoiding a generation of beam interleaving discontinuities and a formation of artifacts in a resulting image.

Apparatus, system, and method for providing a continuous scanning sequence for ultrasound imaging

Methods and systems for scan sequencing in an ultrasound imaging system are provided. The method includes determining an interleave factor based at least partially on a pulse repletion interval (PRI). The method further includes dividing a total number of colorflow imaging vectors into interleave groups based on the interleave factor. Further, the method includes modifying at least one scan sequencing parameter such that all colorflow imaging vectors are included in a colorflow region of interest (ROI).

Method and system for scan sequencing in an ultrasound imaging system

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for performing motion adaptive frame averaging for ultrasound color flow images used to overcome lag and smearing alias of color due to motion. One embodiment of the present invention comprises an ultrasound machine for generating an color flow imaging responsive to moving tissue. The ultrasound system comprises a front end and at least one processor. The front-end is arranged to transmit ultrasound waves into the moving tissue, generating received signals in response to the ultrasound waves backscattered from the moving tissue. The processor is responsive to the received signals, calculating a motion factor by comparing at least one current b-mode frame with at least one previous b-mode frame, determining motion using at least the motion factor, increasing a level of frame averaging if the motion factor is below a first predetermined threshold, and decreasing the level of frame averaging if the motion factor is above a second predetermined threshold.

Motion adaptive frame averaging for ultrasound doppler color flow imaging

The present invention generally relates to ultrasound. In particular, the present invention relates to data dependent color wall filters (used in ultrasound imaging devices for example). Certain embodiments of the present invention relate to a color wall filter that provides flash reduction and clutter suppression. One embodiment of the color wall filter comprises an impulse response filter stage (either a finite or infinite impulse response filter) and a bi-quad filter stage that is data dependent. It is contemplated that the bi-quad filter stage may comprise a series of bi-quad filters, wherein the impulse response filter stage is cascaded into at least one bi-quad filter of the series of bi-quad filters.

Data dependent color wall filters

A system for automatically adjusting color gain of an ultrasound image. Image data passes through a wall filter and is processed into a time-gain compensation curve. Values of the time-gain compensation curve are multiplied with corresponding image data values to compensate for attenuation of image data values with increasing depth in a patient. The values used to generate the time-gain compensation curve may be averaged to reduce localized gain variations and produce an image with smoother intensity transitions. To reduce the effect of a time-gain compensation curve on overall system gain, values of the time-gain compensation curve may be scaled to produce equalized values for the time-gain compensation curve. Values of the time-gain compensation curve may be used to adjust front end gain of an ultrasound system to bring the front end gain within a few decibels of noise floor.

Automatic color gain adjustments

A method and an apparatus for correcting refraction delay errors on curved probes for all ranges using cordic rotation. The angle &phgr; from the normal of an element to the focus is determined as a function of the angle of cordic rotation. Then a delay error correction is indexed using this angle &phgr;. The angular correction method is efficient in that it uses the inherent property of cordic rotation to calculate the only range-dependent variable required for the correction. Thus the additional hardware required to calculate the corrections is minimal, as the remaining correction variables are vector and range independent.

Refraction delay error correction using agile beamformer

A method and an apparatus for wall filtering the receive signal in each receive channel of an ultrasound imaging system prior to analog-to-digital conversion. Large-amplitude echoes corresponding to stationary or very slow-moving tissue are removed before they saturate the inputs to the analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) in the receive channels. By first removing the wall signal, the gain of the TIC amplifier in the receive channel can be increased without saturating the (ADC). This additional amplification will increase the small flow signals, mapping them into higher bits of the ADC, thereby allowing more sensitive detection of weak blood flow in the human body.

Individual channel analog wall filtering to improve flow sensitivity in ultrasound imaging

A transducer (,) is controlled by a beam former (,) to transmit ultrasound pulses in multiple transmit focal zones (Z,-Z,) along at least two axes (A,and A,). The beam former (,) causes the transducer (,) to transmit a first transmit pulse along one axis (A,) and to transmit a second transmit pulse along another axis (A,) before the echo pulse from the first transmit pulse is received by the transducer in order to decrease frame rates.

Multiple transmit scanning to increase ultrasonic frame rate

Multiple transmit ultrasound beams are generated by an ultrasound transducer at different frequencies in different directions in a region of a body during a maximum scan range interval. Transmitting multiple transmit ultrasound beams during the maximum scan range interval may provide an increase in the data acquisition rate compared to conventional ultrasound imaging systems. The transmit ultrasound beams are tracked using parallel receive processing and filtered to provide ultrasound scan lines for display. The respective directions of the transmit ultrasound beams are selected to define a separation angle therebetween which may reduce interference between the transmit ultrasound beams. The maximum scan range interval includes a time interval from a first start time to a second start time which is less than a total time for one of the transmit ultrasound beams to propagate to a maximum scan range in the region and a corresponding reflected transmit ultrasound beam to propagate from the maximum scan range to the ultrasound transducer. The ultrasound scan lines are displayed using a line-by-line frequency interlace pattern which may reduce the effect of frequency dependent attenuation in the region. The line-by-line frequency interlacing may also reduce a difference in speckle size due to the different frequencies.

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Waukesha, WI, United States of America

David Thomas Dubberstein