Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

Paul Ross Detmer

Bernard Joseph Savord

Mckee Dunn Poland

Ivan Salgo

Mark Ward

Jing-Ming Jong

Janice Frisa

Douglas Armand Demers

James Robertson Jago

Andrew Lee Robinson

Brent Stephen Robinson

Xiang-Ning Li

Alasdair Dow

David N Roundhill

Vincentius Paulus Buil

Antoine Collet-Billon

Lisa Kay Pumphrey

Steven John Hill

An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system acquires 3D data sets of the fetal heart by use of a gating signal synthesized from detected motion of the fetal heart. A sequence of temporally different echo signals are acquired from a location in the anatomy where motion representative of the heart cycle is to be estimated, such as a sample volume in the fetal carotid artery or an M line through the fetal myocardium. A heart cycle signal is synthesized from the detected motion and used to gate the acquisition of fetal heart image data at one or more desired phases of the fetal heart cycle. In an illustrated embodiment 3D data sets are acquired from multiple subvolumes, each over the full fetal heart cycle, then combined to produce a live 3D loop of the beating fetal heart.

Three dimensional fetal heart imaging by non-ECG physiological gated acquisition

The present invention relates to an ultrasound diagnostic imaging system and method, wherein volumentric data in respect of an anatomical region of interest is acquired throughout a physiological cycle in relation thereto, a 3D view of the volumetric data is built, the motion of a structure of interest (in space and/or time) is analysed within the volume throughout the above-mentioned physiological cycle, and this motion is used to move a 3D view of the structure of interest, as presented to a user, so that it tracks the structure of interest and retains it centred in the 3D view.

Method and system for maintaining consistent anatomic views in displayed image data

An ultrasonic apparatus and method are described in which a volumetric region of the body is imaged by biplane images. One biplane image has a fixed planar orientation to the transducer, and the plane of the other biplane image can be varied in relation to the fixed reference image. In a preferred embodiment one image can be rotated relative to the other, and can be tilted relative to the other. An image orientation icon is shown on the display screen together with the two biplane images depicting the relative orientation of the two planar images.

Biplane ultrasonic imaging

Three dimensional ultrasonic images are formed by volume rendering using a 3D ultrasonic image data set. The data set may be acquired by rocking, sweeping, fanning or rotating a 2D image plane through the volume being scanned, or by steering beams in different angular directions from a two dimensional array of transducer elements. The polar data is volume rendered to form a 3D image by means of projected raylines which are warped to account for the angular geometry of the acquisition.

Volume rendered three dimensional ultrasonic images with polar coordinates

Method of and system for ultrasound imaging

The present invention is a method of and system for imaging an object with an ultrasound transducer array that transmits ultrasound beams and detects echoes reflected from the object. A plurality of adjacent ultrasound beams are transmitted at the object, each of the beams being separated from an adjacent beam by a first predetermined distance. A plurality of groups of echoes are received from the object, with each of the groups of echoes corresponding to one of the plurality of the ultrasound beams. Each of these echoes are spaced from the corresponding ultrasound beam by a second predetermined distance which is less than the first predetermined distance. The transmitted ultrasound beams are arranged such that one of the received echoes corresponding to an ultrasound beam substantially overlaps with one of the received echoes corresponding to an adjacent ultrasound beam. At least a subset of the received echoes are then processed to obtain B-mode data from each of the processed echoes. In addition, the overlapping pairs of received echoes are processed to obtain B-flow data, typically by determining the difference between the overlapping received echoes. Doppler flow data, Doppler power data, and/or Doppler tissue motion data may also be processed from the received echoes.

Method and apparatus for obtaining B-flow and B-mode data from multiline beams in an ultrasound imaging system

An ultrasonic 2D array has elements extending in two dimensions which can be individually controlled and operated to form a 2D array for scanning a volumetric region in three dimensions. Individual ones of the elements can also be selected and operated together to form a 1D array for scanning a planar region in two dimensions. The array transmits scanlines to scan the volumetric region and the planar region in a time interleaved manner with the frame rate of the planar region be higher than that of the volumetric region. A spectral display may also be produced of a sample volume located in the planar region.

2D ultrasonic transducer array for two dimensional and three dimensional imaging

A 3-D ultrasound imaging system acquires partially complete image volumes interspersed with substantially complete image volumes. The partially complete image volumes contain speckle that is processed by a cross-correlation algorithm to track the movement of an ultrasound scanhead. By tracking the movement of the scanhead, the substantially complete image volumes can be properly registered with each other and combined to create a 3-D extended field of view image. The partially complete image volumes contain significantly less data than the substantially complete image volumes. Therefore, the partially complete image volumes can be acquired more quickly than the substantially complete image volumes to allow the scanhead to be scanned at a relatively fast speed.

High frame rate extended field of view ultrasound imaging system and method

Position sensor in ultrasound transducer probe

A method for creating multiple planar images of a volumetric region of an object without acquiring data from the entire volumetric region. The method includes sweeping a transducer across the volumetric region. At sampling positions during the sweep, ultrasonic beams from the transducer are transmitted into the volumetric region, which intersect one or more of a plurality of surfaces to be scanned. The number of transmitted beams during the sweep is fewer than the number of beams that would be transmitted to scan the entire volumetric region. Echoes from the volumetric region are received at the transducer in response to the transmitted beams. From the received echoes, planar images corresponding to the plurality of surfaces are formed. In a variation, the method includes receiving at the transducer fewer echoes from the volumetric region than the echoes that would be received from scanning the entire volumetric region. This enables the creation of planar images corresponding to buried surfaces within the volumetric region. Because only a finite plurality of surfaces of the region is being scanned rather than the entire volumetric region, planar images of high image quality and a broad field of view can be created and displayed in real-time.

Method for creating multiplanar ultrasonic images of a three dimensional object

An ultrasonic 2D array has elements extending in two dimensions which can be individually controlled and operated to form a 2D array for scanning a volumetric region in three dimensions. Individual ones of the elements can also be selected and operated together to form a 1D array for scanning a planar region in two dimensions. An ultrasonic probe containing the inventive array can be quickly switched between two and three dimensional imaging modes to produce both a three dimensional image and a two dimensional image in real time.

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Paul Ross Detmer