Bk Medical Aps

Sound Technology, Inc.

Henrik Jensen

Svetoslav Ivanov Nikolov

Jens Munk Hansen

Fredrik Gran

Christopher J Beers

Jan Peter Bagge

Russell W Woods

Jacob Kortbek

Joseph S Conklin

Robert Harold Owen

Johannes Paede

Dean A McHenry

Bo Martins

Torben Svanberg Nielsen

Gert Seerup

Per Ehrenreich Nygaard

Niels-Christian Ll Sasady

Marianne Andersen

Lars Nordahl Moesner

Terry Kling

Jacob Bjerring Olesen

Robert H Owen

Bo Hansen

Nitsan Vardi

Soren Juel Andersen

Niels Christian Sasady

Rasmus Holdensgaard Rossen

Mai Hestbek

John J Antol

An ultrasound imaging system include a console with transmit circuitry configured to generate an excitation electrical pulse that excites transducer elements of a probe to produce an ultrasound pressure field and configured to receive an echo signal generated in response to the ultrasound pressure field interacting with tissue. The console further includes receive circuitry configured to convert the echo signal into an electrical signal, and an echo processor configured to generate a live ultrasound image based on the electrical signal into. The console further includes a tracking processor configured to extract, in real-time, a feature common to both the live ultrasound image and previously generated volumetric image data from at least the live ultrasound image, and register, in real-time, the live ultrasound image with previously generated volumetric image data based on the common feature extracted in real-time to create the fused image. A display displays the fused image.

Image fusion-based tracking without a tracking sensor

A system () includes an elongate ultrasound imaging probe () with a long axis and a top side that extends along the long axis. The elongate ultrasound imaging probe includes an elongate tubular handle (), a head (), an elongate tubular shaft () between the elongate tubular handle and the head, and a transducer array () disposed in the head and configured to transmit in a sagittal plane, which is a plane that cuts through the long axis of the elongate tubular shaft, only in a direction extending out from the top side. The elongate tubular handle is both not centered on the elongate tubular shaft and not shifted down in the sagittal plane away from the top.

Ultrasound-guided transperineal and/or transrectal biopsy

An ultrasound imaging probe () includes a transducer array (). The transducer array includes one or more transducer elements (). The ultrasound imaging probe further includes an illumination component () and an optical imaging component (). The ultrasound imaging probe further includes an elongated housing () with a long axis (). The elongated housing includes a proximal end region () affixed to a handle () and a distal end region () with a tip region (). The elongated housing houses the transducer array, the illumination component, and the optical imaging component in the distal end region.

US imaging probe with an US transducer array and an integrated optical imaging sub-system

An ultrasound probe includes a housing. The housing includes a first end, which internally houses: a transducer array and a tracking sensor, and a second end. The housing further includes a second portion extending between the first and second ends. The second portion houses: a first electrically conductive path extending from the transducer array through the second portion to the second end, which is opposite the first end, and a second electrically conductive path extending from the tracking sensor through the second portion to the second end. The probe further includes a single electro-mechanical connector with a physical interface configured to transfer signals carried by the first and second electrically conductive members off the probe. The probe further includes a single cable that routes the first and second electrically conductive members from the second end to the electro-mechanical connector.

Ultrasound imaging system probe cable and connector

An ultrasound imaging system () includes a transducer array () with a two-dimensional non-rectangular array of rows () of elements, transmit circuitry () that actuates the elements to transmit an ultrasound signal into a field of view, receive circuitry () that receives echoes produced in response to an interaction between the ultrasound signal and a structure in the field of view, and a beamformer that processes the echoes, thereby generating one or more scan lines indicative of the field of view.

Ultrasound imaging

An ultrasound imaging system () includes a transducer array () with a two-dimensional array of rows () of transducer elements (). The transducer elements of each row extend along a long axis (). The rows are parallel to each other. The transducer array includes a non-rectangular set of active transducer elements. The ultrasound imaging system further includes transmit circuitry () that actuates the transducer elements to transmit an ultrasound signal. The ultrasound imaging system further includes receive circuitry () that receives echoes produced in response to an interaction between the ultrasound signal and a structure and received by the transducer elements. The ultrasound imaging system further includes a beamformer that processes the echoes and generates one or more scan lines indicative of the structure.

Two-dimensional ultrasound imaging transducer array with a non-rectangular active sensing region

A system () includes an ultrasound imaging probe () with an elongate shaft () including an outer perimeter housing (), two ends () and a long axis (). The system further includes a channel () that extends along the direction of the long axis, is part of the outer perimeter housing, and is configured as a recess of the outer perimeter housing. The system further includes a handle () affixed to one of the ends of the elongate shaft. The system further includes a transducer array () disposed at another of the ends of the elongate shaft. The transducer array includes one or more transducer elements ().

US imaging probe with an instrument channel

An ultrasound imaging includes a beamformer configured to process ultrasound echo signals generated by the plurality of elements of a transducer array. The beamformer includes a delay processor configured to generate a delay for each of the signals and apply the delays to corresponding signals and a summer configured to sum the delayed signals to produce an image. The delay processor includes a spatio-temporal processor configured to computed delays based on time-of-flight calculations from a center of the elements to one of a transmit focal point, a virtual source or a plane, a spatial correction processor configured to compute delay corrections for the computed delays, an adder configured to add the delay corrections to the computed delays to produce corrected delays, and a delay component configured to delay each of the signals with a corresponding corrected delay.

Spatial delay beamformation

An ultrasound imaging system () includes a transducer array (). The transducer array includes a first set of transducer elements (oror) and a second set of transducer elements (oror). The first and second sets of transducer elements includes long axes and are angularly offset from each other by a non-zero angle with respect to the long axes. The ultrasound imaging system further includes a velocity processor () that processes echoes received by the first and second sets of transducer elements and determines an axial and two transverse flow velocity components based on the received echoes.

Three dimensional (3D) vector flow imaging with BiPlane phased array transducer

An ultrasound imaging system includes an imaging probe including an array with a plurality of elements and a drive system configured to move the transducer array with a first pitch during data acquisition. A console includes a transmit circuit configured to excite the elements to transmit a first sequence of different sub-sets of the elements and then a second sequence, wherein the plurality of elements is offset from each other by a predetermined shift for the sequences. The console further includes a receive circuit configured to receive echo signals from the elements for the sequences. The console further includes a processor configured to beamform the received signals for the sequences and generate scanlines for the sequences and configured to combine pairs of scanlines across the sequences to produce a single sequence with a second pitch that is less than the first pitch.

Synthetic fine-pitch ultrasound imaging

An apparatus includes a transducer array with a plurality of CMUT elements. Each of the plurality of CMUT elements includes a first end and a second end. The transducer array further includes a bias network that is electrically connected with the first and second ends of the plurality of CMUT elements. The bias network applies a first bias voltage to the first end of the plurality of CMUT elements and a second bias voltage to the second end of the plurality of CMUT elements. The first and second bias voltages bias the plurality of CMUT elements. A method includes biasing, with bias network, a CMUT element of an transducer array using a bipolar signal that includes a first bias voltage and a second bias voltage, transmitting, by a transmit circuit, a transmit signal to the CMUT element, receiving, by a receive circuit, a receive signal from the CMUT element.

Transducer array CMUT element biasing

An apparatus () includes an analog beamformer () that receives a set of analog RF signals. The set of analog RF signals are generated by a corresponding set of transducer elements () receiving ultrasound echo signals. The analog beamformer includes a delay network () with a set of phase shifting networks (). Each phase shifting network of the set of phase shifting networks processes a different one of the analog RF signals of the set of analog RF signals. Each phase shifting network of the set of phase shifting networks adds a delay to the corresponding analog RF signal, producing a set of delayed analog RF signals that are aligned in time. The set of phase shifting networks does not use an inductive element to determine or add the delays. The analog beamformer further includes a summer () that sums the delayed analog RF signals, producing an analog beam sum.

Ultrasound signal analog beamformer / beamforming

A method includes concurrently exciting neighboring pairs of transducer elements of an array for at least two transmits, wherein the array has a focus in a range of ten to twenty centimeters with a f-number of five or less. The method further includes receiving first echoes with individual transducer elements of a first sub-set of the transducer elements for a first of the at least two transmits, and receiving second echoes with individual transducer elements of a second sub-set of the transducer elements for a second of the at least two transmits. The method further includes extracting second harmonics from the echoes of the at least two transmits. The method further includes beamforming the extracted second harmonics. The method further includes generating an image based on the beamformed extracted second harmonics.

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Henrik Jensen