Acuson Corporation

Siemens Medical Solutions Usa, Inc.

Gregory L Holley

John Alexander Hossack

Samuel H Maslak

Edward A Gardner

David J Napolitano

Donald R Langdon

Sriram Krishnan

John W Sliwa, Jr

Patrick J Phillips

Christopher R Cole

Charles E Bradley

Richard M Bennett

Paul E Chandler

Pai-Chi Li

Ismayil M Guracar

J Nelson Wright

David J Hedberg

Bhaskar S Ramamurthy

Kutay F Ustuner

Lawrence J Newell

Dave Napolitano

John W Allison

Albert Gee

Ting-Lan Ji

Lewis Jones Thomas, Iii

Seshadri Srinivasan

Mirsaid Seyed Bolorforosh

Lewis J Thomas

Joan Carol Main

Xiaohui Hao

Jeffrey R Resnick

John A Davidson

Ting Lan Ji

Diagnostic ultrasound flow imaging is performed with coded excitation pulses. Due to the use of frequency coded excitation pulses, flow information may suffer from spatial misregistration and estimate errors. Spatial position shift in flow data is offset for alignment with B-mode or other imaging. The flow estimates are compensated for the imaging center frequency variation with depth. The wide bandwidth information available due to coded excitation may allow anti-aliasing by estimating velocities from two frequency bands.

Ultrasound diagnostic flow imaging with coded excitation

A medical diagnostic ultrasonic imaging system acquires receive beams from spatially distinct transmit beams. The receive beams alternate in type between at least first and second types across the region being imaged. The first and second types of receive beams differ in at least one scan parameter other than transmit and receive line geometry, and can for example differ in transmit phase, transmit or receive aperture, system frequency, transmit focus, complex phase angle, transmit code or transmit gain. Receive beams associated with spatially distinct ones of the transmit beams (including at least one beam of the first type and at least one beam of the second type) are then combined. In this way, many two-pulse techniques, including, for example, phase inversion techniques, synthetic aperture techniques, synthetic frequency techniques, and synthetic focus techniques, can be used while substantially reducing the frame rate penalty normally associated with such techniques.

Diagnostic ultrasound imaging method and system with improved frame rate

Improvements to a method for imaging a target, which method including the steps of (a) transmitting ultrasonic energy at a fundamental frequency, (b) receiving reflected ultrasonic energy at a harmonic of the fundamental frequency and (c) generating an image responsive to reflected energy at the harmonic, are provided. The transmitting step includes transmitting a waveform with a positive pulse spatially defined by first and second zero values. A positive peak amplitude of the positive pulse is a first distance from the first zero value that is less than half a second distance between said first and second zero values. Thus, the waveform includes a fundamental spectral component and a harmonic spectral component at the transducer. An attenuation normalized peak of the harmonic spectral component is reduced at a region spaced from the transducer as compared to the peak at a region adjacent to the transducer. A negative peak is also shifted or pre-distorted. Various pre-distortions of the waveform may compensate for propagation, scattering, or system non-linearities.

Ultrasonic harmonic imaging system and method using waveform pre-distortion

An ultrasound imaging system is programmed to acquire first ultrasonic image frames intermittently. These first frames, typically triggered frames synchronized with a selected portion of an ECG cycle, are optimized for high image quality of a contrast agent included in the tissue. The imaging system automatically acquires second ultrasonic image frames between at least some of the first frames. The second image frames are typically locator frames which are optimized for reduced degradation of the contrast agent. More of the second frames are acquired per unit time than first frames, and both the first and second frames are displayed, either superimposed over one another or in side-by-side relationship. In this way the user is provided with substantially continuous transducer locating information, yet contrast agent destruction between acquisitions of the first, triggered frames is reduced or eliminated.

Gated ultrasound imaging apparatus and method

A medical ultrasound imaging pulse transmission method transmits at least three pulses, including at least two pulses of different amplitude and at least two pulses of differing phase. The larger-amplitude pulse is transmitted with a larger aperture and the smaller-amplitude pulses are transmitted with respective smaller subapertures. The subapertures are arranged such that the sum of the subapertures used for the smaller-amplitude pulses is equal to the aperture used for the larger-amplitude pulse. In this way, pulses of differing amplitudes are obtained without varying the power level of individual transducer elements, and precise control over pulse amplitude is provided.

Medical ultrasonic imaging pulse transmission method

A medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging method fires a sequence of pulses into a body and then receives, beamforms, weights and sums the resulting echo signals to suppress first order echoes. The sequence of pulses includes at least two pulses that differ in amplitude and phase. In one form, no two pulses of the sequence have the same amplitude and opposite phase. In another form, only linear echoes are suppressed. In a third form, second and third order echoes are preserved while linear echoes are suppressed.

Medical diagnostic ultrasound system using contrast pulse sequence imaging

The preferred embodiments described herein provide a medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging system and method for determining an acoustic output parameter of a transmitted ultrasonic beam. In one preferred embodiment, the ultrasound system determines an acoustic output parameter of a transmitted ultrasonic beam in a user-selected region. In another preferred embodiment, the ultrasound system achieves a specified acoustic output parameter of a transmitted ultrasonic beam in a selected region by automatically adjusting an operating parameter of the ultrasound imaging system. In yet another preferred embodiment, a region is selected in the ultrasound image that does not contain a peak acoustic output parameter of a transmitted ultrasonic beam. The system then determines an acoustic output parameter of the transmitted ultrasonic beam in that region and provides an indication of the determined acoustic output parameter.

Medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging system and method for determining an acoustic output parameter of a transmitted ultrasonic beam

An ultrasonic imaging system including an aberration correction system uses a harmonic component of the fundamental transmitted frequency for imaging, or for aberration correction, or both. By properly selecting the frequency pass bands of filters used in the image signal path and in the aberration correction signal path operating advantages are provided. The aberration correction values may be calculated concurrently with image formation.

Ultrasonic imaging aberration correction system and method

An ultrasonic imaging system includes an ultrasonic transducer having an image data array and a tracking array at each end of the image data array. The tracking arrays are oriented transversely to the image data array. Images from the image data array are used to reconstruct a three-dimensional representation of the target. The relative movement between respective frames of the image data is automatically estimated by a motion estimator, based on frames of data from the tracking arrays. As the transducer is rotated about the azimuthal axis of the image data array, features of the target remain within the image planes of the tracking arrays. Movements of these features in the image planes of the tracking arrays are used to estimate motion as required for the three-dimensional reconstruction. Similar techniques estimate motion within the plane of an image to create an extended field of view.

Multiple ultrasound image registration system, method and transducer

A method and system for acquiring data in an ultrasound system are provided. A transducer is operatively connected to a transmit beamformer and a receive beamformer. The receive beamformer is configured to obtain a first value associated with a fundamental frequency interleaved with a second value associated with a harmonic frequency. A first transmit signal is transmitted at a first frequency. A first echo signal is received in response to the first transmit signal. At least the first value associated with the first frequency is obtained from the first echo signal. An interleaved second transmit signal is transmitted at the first frequency or a second frequency. A second echo signal is received in response to the second transmit signal. At least the second value associated with a third frequency is obtained from the second echo signal. Images are generated and displayed based on the at least one first value and the at least one second value.

Method and apparatus for frequency control of an ultrasound system

The invention is directed to improvements in diagnostic medical ultrasound contrast agent imaging. In a preferred embodiment, high pulse repetition frequency (HPRF) destruction pulses are fired at a rate higher than necessary for receiving returning echoes. Pulse parameters can also be changed between the plurality of contrast agent-destroying pulses. Other preferred embodiments of the invention are directed to simultaneous transmission of multiple beams of destruction pulses. Destruction frames that consist of a plurality of destruction pulses can be triggered and swept over the entire region of tissue being imaged and at a variety of focal depths from the transmitter. The destruction frames are fired at some time triggered from a timer or some fixed part of a physiological signal, such as an ECG signal. Other preferred embodiments of the invention are directed to continuous low power imaging pulses alternating with destruction pulses triggered at a fixed point of a physiological signal, and a comparison of the received signals from imaging pulses fired before and after the destruction pulses. Alternatively, destruction pulses are triggered at a fixed point on a physiological signal different from the fixed point of a physiological signal used to trigger imaging pulses. In another embodiment, triggered destruction frames are used to enable a comparison of imaging frames in order to determine physiological functions, such as perfusion of blood in cardiac tissue. Finally, in another embodiment, destruction pulses are combined with subharmonic imaging.

Contrast agent imaging with destruction pulses in diagnostic medical ultrasound

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Mountain View, CA, United States of America

Gregory L Holley