Advanced Technology Laboratories, Inc.

Larry J Augustine

Philip Keller

Ronald Elvin Daigle

An ultrasonic imaging system is disclosed which produces a sequence of images of planes of a subject including both image and spatial positional information of the image plane. In one embodiment the positional information is developed from a plurality of accelerometers located within a scanhead. The second integrals of the acceleration signals are used to determine positional information of the image plane. In a second embodiment a transmitter transmits a magnetic field and a receiver attached to the scanhead detects the position of the scanhead in relation to the transmitted magnetic field. Spatially related images are displayed by displaying one image plane in the plane of the display and a second image plane projected in relation thereto. Either of the displayed planes may be displayed in outline form, and the outline may be modulated to depict depth.

Acquisition and display of ultrasonic images from sequentially oriented

The present invention is a multiline beamformer for use in a medical ultrasound scanner using a phased array transducer. Lines of ultrasound energy are generated having a pressure at the array aperture corresponding to sin (.pi.x)/.pi.x, where x is the normalized distance of the array element measured from the center of the array. This transmitted energy creates a flat field in space which can then be received in multiple receive lines, using bundled, parallel time delays.

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Bothell, WA, United States of America

Larry J Augustine