Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Konica Minolta, Inc.

Agency of Industrial Science and Technology

Ministry of International Trade & Industry

Siemens Medical Systems, Inc.

Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co., Ltd.

Hiroshi Fukukita

Hisashi Hagiwara

Tsutomu Yano

Morio Nishigaki

Ryobun Tachita

Akira Fukumoto

Yoshihiro Hayakawa

Kazuyoshi Irioka

Shinichiro Ueno

Masami Kawabuchi

Takao Suzuki

Hisashi Akiyama

Zoran B Banjanin

Jin H Kim

Lin X Yao

Kinya Hasegawa

Yushi Nishimura

Yoshihiko Itoh

Jun-ichi Sato

Kuniaki Fukaya

Shinichirou Ueno

Yasuhiro Nakamura

Masahiko Hashimoto

Koetsu Saito

Akihisa Adachi

Nobuaki Furuya

Yoshinobu Watanabe

Yoshinao Tannaka

Kiyotaka Nagai

Takenori Fukumoto

Yoshihiko Ito

Masayuki Tone

Mori Nishigaki

Junichiro Ninomiya

An ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus includes: a transducer arraycomposed of arrayed transducer elements Tto Tfor transmitting ultrasound; driving circuits DA to DA each provided for transmission channels for driving each of the transducer elements; a transmission trigger generatorfor generating a trigger pulse for controlling each of the driving circuits; a parallel reception beam formerfor processing reception signals from the transducer elements; a signal processorfor processing an output signal of the parallel reception beam former; and a control unitfor controlling the transmission trigger generator, the parallel reception beam former and the signal processor. The transmission trigger generator controls the width of the trigger pulse independently for each of the transmission channels to cause the driving circuit to output a driving pulse approximating a predetermined weighting value assigned to an output amplitude of each of the transmission channels in a transmission aperture of the transducer array. A circuit for forming a trapezoidal transmission beam for increasing a data acquisition rate by using parallel reception beams can be configured at low cost by using pulse amplifiers.

Ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus

A technique for an ultrasonographic device that can obtain respective rendering images for a plurality of regions of a 3D space is disclosed. According to the technique, a transmission beam former generates an ultrasonic beam for scanning a plurality of regions of interest and drives a matrix array. When a reception beam former generates a plurality of beam forming signals, respectively corresponding to the regions of interest, in accordance with reception signals of the matrix array generated by reflection wave from the respective regions of interest, a signal processing unit processes the beam forming signals and, with a viewpoint set for each of the regions of interest as a standard, generates respective rendering images of the plurality of regions of interest. A display unit displays the rendering images in parallel. A control unit carries out setting of the plurality of regions of interest and the viewpoints, by an external operation.

Ultrasonographic device with weighted addition of data

An object of the invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can scan a region of interest at high speed and other regions at low speed. In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the invention, a two-dimensional array probe 1 formed by arranging a plurality of ultrasonic elements two-dimensionally transmits an ultrasonic beam to a three-dimensional region and receives a reflected signal. The ultrasonic beam scans a region on a pyramid, and the scan region is divided into a main scan region Am of a region of interest and a subscan region. The subscan region is divided into small regions As1, As2, As3, and As4. The number of main scanning times of the main scan region is larger than the number of subscanning times of the subscan region.

Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus

There are provided transducers, transmission pulse generators for transmitting pulses to the transducers, a transmission power source for supplying power to the transmission pulse generators, and an output side capacitorfor stabilizing a voltage of the transmission power source. The transmission power source includes a plurality of mode-specific power sourcesA andB for outputting a constant voltage, and a mode changeover switchprovided between the mode-specific power sources and the output side capacitor. The transmission power source further includes a power supplying power sourceconnected to the mode-specific power sources for supplying power, and a power regeneration capacitorwith a larger capacity than that of the output side capacitor, one electrode terminal of which is connected to a connection point between the power supplying power source and the mode-specific power sources and the mode changeover switch, and the other electrode terminal of which is connected to ground. The mode changeover switch is capable of connecting the power regeneration capacitor, instead of each of the mode-specific power sources, to the output side capacitor. There is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that reuses power stored in the output side capacitor to reduce power consumption.

An ultrasonic diagnostic system includes electroacoustic conversion means in which a plurality of sub-arrays, each composed of a plurality of electroacoustic transducers, are arranged at least two-dimensionally, sub-beam formers that are provided on the sub-array basis, and a main beam former for subjecting signals output from the sub-beam formers to delay addition. Each sub-beam former generates signals having polarities different from each other from each of received signals from the electroacoustic transducers in the sub-array, obtains a first signal and a second signal that are obtained by controlling amplitudes of signals having different polarities generated from the received signals from the electroacoustic transducers in the sub-array, followed by adding, imparts a delay time difference corresponding to a quarter of one period of the received signal between the first signal and the second signal by first delay means composed of a capacitor memory provided inside, and adds the first signal and the second signal to which the delay time difference is imparted. The ultrasonic diagnostic system with this configuration is capable of phasing a received signal with high precision.

Ultrasonic diagnostic system

Disclosed is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can dynamically change a focus position of a phasing circuit installed in a sub-array. A transducer element is two-dimensionally arrayed and constitutes a sub-array. The sub-array is two-dimensionally arrayed and constitutes an arrayed transducer element. An output of the transducer element of the sub-array is sent to a phasing circuit and a phasing circuit. Outputs of the phasing circuits are coupled by a coupling circuit. All of the foregoing transducer elements, sub-arrays, phasing circuits and coupling circuits are accommodated in a probe handle. An output from the coupling circuit is sent through a probe cable to a delay adding circuit of a main body. Also, the phasing circuits are controlled by a control circuit. An output of the delay adding circuit is processed by a signal processor and displayed on a display.

Herein disclosed is a sound converting apparatus for performing conversion between electric signals and ultrasonic waves, comprising: a plurality of oscillation bodies for emitting ultrasonic waves converted from the electric signals along a wave propagating direction Dp; and a plurality of electrically conductive bodies each for electrically connecting the oscillation bodies; a plurality of signal lines for inputting electric signals to be applied to respective oscillation bodies; a pair of external electrodes respectively held in contact with the outer surfaces of respective piezoelectric layers and electrically connected with the electrically conductive bodies; and a dividing electrode sandwiched by and held in contact with the inner surfaces of the piezoelectric layers and electrically connected with the signal line, whereby the piezoelectric layers respectively generate electric polarizations, directions of which are opposing to each other and extending substantially parallel to an azimuthal direction Da perpendicular to the wave propagating direction Dp, and emit ultrasonic waves converted from the electric signals along the wave propagating direction Dp when electrical fields are applied between the external electrodes and the dividing electrode in response to the electric signals, the ratio of the width W to the thickness T is within a range of from 0.1 to 0.8.

Sound converting apparatus

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for observing a detectable object to be ultrasonically diagnosed. The apparatus includes an ultrasonically diagnostic probe unit for probing the object with ultrasonic waves in response to input pulse signals and with an ultrasonic echo from the object, a signal transmitting unit to generate the input pulse signals, a signal receiving unit for receiving the ultrasonic echo and processing output signals to be converted into an image of the object, and a display unit to display the image. The ultrasonically diagnostic probe unit comprises an oscillation body having a pair of piezoelectric layers, an intermediate layer sandwiched by the piezoelectric layers, an acoustic lens body operative to focus the ultrasonic waves to be emitted to and reflected by the object, and a supporting body having the oscillation body mounted thereon, thereby making it possible to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a readily machinable oscillation body and to facilitate the machining and adhesive processes of the oscillation body.

A physical parameter measuring system is provided which measures a physical parameter such as a blood pressure of a person using oscillation transmission. The system includes a phase detector, an A/D converter, an arc center determining circuit, and a phase angle determining circuit. The phase detector detects a phase of a sensor signal produced, in sequence, by monitoring oscillations which are applied by an exciter and transmitted through a living body to map the signal on a two-dimensional plane as a sample point. The A/D converter converts the sample point signal into a digital sample point signal in sequence. The arc center determining circuit determines a center of an arc defined by a distribution of the sample points mapped for a given period of time. The arc determining circuit selects the sample points which are located at an interval greater than a given reference sample-to-sample distance to form a sample group consisting of at least three of the selected sample points and determines a center of a circle passing through the sample group as the center of the arc. The phase angle determining circuit determines a phase angle of the sample point as viewed from the arc center determined by the arc center determining circuit and provides it as a parameter used to determine a physical parameter of the subject.

System for measuring physical parameter utilizing vibration transmission

An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus includes a probe which outputs RF signals. There are N phase detectors for converting the RF signals outputted from the probe into baseband signals In and Qn, where &ldquo;N&rdquo; denotes a first predetermined natural number and &ldquo;n&rdquo; denotes a second predetermined natural number set as 2&lE;n&lE;N. A reception beam former operates for processing the baseband signals In and Qn into a time-division-multiplexed signal. The reception beam former includes a device for multiplying the baseband signals In and Qn by phase shift data to generate multiplication-resultant signals, a device for delaying the multiplication-resultant signals to generate delay-resultant signals, and a device for combining the delay-resultant signals into the time-division-multiplexed signal.

Ultrasound diagnostic apparatus

A blood pressure determining apparatus is provided which applies oscillations to the blood vessel of a subject through an exciter to determine the blood pressure based on the frequency of the oscillations propagated through the blood vessel measured by an oscillation sensor. The apparatus monitors an output of the oscillation sensor when the exciter applies no oscillation to the subject to determine the power spectrum of noise signals contained in the output and sets the frequency of oscillations to be applied to the blood vessel to any value within a band of the power spectrum in which the power of noise is small. This enables the blood pressure to be determined without influence of any electric disturbances from peripheral devices.

Blood pressure determining apparatus and method of determining excitation frequency used in the same

A nonlinear distortion-based ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system displays a raised-resolution video of tissue inside a body at an increased frame rate. Using a two-pulse technique, a transducer driver supplies narrower-width and wider-width driving pulses to a transducer, which transmits weaker and stronger ultrasonic wave pulses alternately while putting the same intervals between adjacent ultrasonic wave pulses to obtain a weaker echo and a stronger echo. An equalizer equalizes each weaker echo to the stronger echo into an equalized weaker echo. An interpolator calculates an interpolation value between the equalized weaker echo and an equalized previous weaker echo obtained from a previous weaker echo. For each weaker ultrasonic wave pulse, a detector finds a difference between the interpolation value and a stronger echo obtained between the weaker echo and the previous weaker echo. The equalization and interpolation enables high-speed scanning, which has not been achieved with two-pulse technique. Thus, a raised-resolution video signal of the tissue is formed at an increased frame rate on the basis of the difference signal and a scan control signal which is also used in the transducer.

Ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system

A sound generating apparatus or a sound detecting apparatus includes: a flexible substrate; and a plurality of bimorphs arranged on a surface of the flexible substrate in a direction at a predetermined interval, each of the bimorphs having input/output terminals. Each of the bimorphs has a rectangular shape and its longitudinal direction is perpendicular to the direction. The flexible substrate has a slit between successive two of the bimorphs. A width of the slit outside the bimorphs is wide. A buffering material covering surfaces of the flexible substrate with the bimorphs exposed or a cover covering the bimorphs with a space may be provided. The cover and the buffering material may have slit. A sound generating apparatus including a plurality of flexible substrates respectively supporting bimorphs may be provided. The flexible substrate may have a comb shape. An acoustic sensor includes the sound generating apparatus, the sound detection apparatus connected therebetween by a flexible substrate, wherein the flexible substrate may include a cable and a connector. A living body measuring apparatus includes the acoustic sensor, wherein phase shift between the sound signal induced by the bimorph and a reference drive signal is detected and a blood pressure is operated by the phase shift amount.

Sound generating apparatus, a sound detection apparatus, an acoustic sensor, and an acoustic living body measuring apparatus

First 1-sound-line received signals are successively generated from an output signal of a transducer. One is selected from among the generated first 1-sound-line received signals as a 1-sound-line received signal of interest. Second 1-sound-line received signals are selected from among the generated first 1-sound-line received signals. The second 1-sound-line received signals include a 1 -sound-line received signal preceding the 1-sound-line received signal of interest and also a 1-sound-line received signal following the 1-sound-line received signal of interest. The second 1-sound-line received signals are averaged into a mean 1-sound-line received signal which corresponds to an undesired multiple-echo signal. The mean 1-sound-line received signal is subtracted from the 1-sound-line received signal of interest to remove the undesired multiple-echo signal from the 1-sound-line received signal of interest.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Hiroshi Fukukita