Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Elmar Trautenberg

Eckart Hundt

Dieter Hassler

Dietrich Hassler

Fritz Breimesser

Gerd Maderlechner

An ultrasonic head is a linear array consisting of a plurality of transducer elements. The array is perpendicular to a sectional plane of the object under study and can be rotated about its longitudinal axis. Several groups each consisting of jointly controlled transducer elements are driven to form a beam aperture. Between each two adjacent driven groups there is provided at least one group that is switched off. The ultrasonic tomography unit thus obtained scans several parallel section levels one after the other or even, at least approximately simultaneously, without additional mechanical movement.

Ultrasonic tomography unit

An ultrasound tomography device for scanning an object under examination from a plurality of directions. Coronal slice images of the plane areas near or at the female breast wall are obtained. Ultrasound lobes from ultrasound transducers are electronically directed or mechanically positioned to obliquely strike the coronal slice located at or near the breast wall. A full image of the coronal slice plane is reconstructed through section by section combination of the images obtained from the several ultrasound lobes.

Plane reconstruction ultrasound tomography device

An ultrasound tomography device for scanning an object under examination from a plurality of directions. Coronal slice images of the plane or planes near or at the female breast wall are obtained. A sagittal scanner is used to obtain numerous small sectional oblique views of the slice to be viewed. A full image of the coronal slice plane is reconstructed through section by section combination of the images obtained from the several small sagittal sections. By providing the sagittal scanner with a scanning motion as well as with translational mobility a full composite view is provided.

Ultrasound tomography device

In an exemplary embodiment partial images of an object are obtained by scanning the object from different directions, e.g. by compound scanning. For a given object region or point, the different partial images may include a response maximum signifying a directionally reflecting region. Other object regions may provide echo signal amplitudes in a range signifying a locally isotropic scattering. According to the disclosure, the partial images are linked or combined taking account of the nature of the respective object regions as being directionally reflecting or nondirectionally scattering.

Method for processing ultrasonic echo signals of both directionally

In an exemplary embodiment, the processing techniques of computerized x-ray tomography are applied to improve resolution transverse to the depth direction, for example with the use of compound ultrasonic scanning. In this way, an improved preliminary image for representing non-directionally scattering image points is attained. The ultrasonic echo signals are also processed to provide a preliminary image based predominantly or exclusively on directionally reflecting image points. The respective preliminary images for each image point or point region are then suitably combined to provide a stored ultrasonic image capable of display of the scanned region of improved accuracy, resolution, and freedom from noise.

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Fuerth, Germany

Elmar Trautenberg