Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

Peter Koester Rhoads

Janice M Blackwell-Jones

Douglas Harriott

Scott Barraclough

Edward C Parnagian

Brian Collamore

Rachel M Kinicki

Grace M Saccardo

Donald W Lewallen

An ultrasound diagnostic device is provided which is portable, small, light weight and easy to use. Preferably, the ultrasound diagnostic device is very small and light weight. The weight of the ultrasound diagnostic device normally will be approximately 6 or 7 pounds, including electrical control circuitry, a battery pack, a carrying strap and a transducer assembly. The ultrasound diagnostic device is similar in design to a laptop computer, except that it is smaller than typical laptop computers. The ultrasound diagnostic device comprises a console portion and a display portion. To open the device, the user simply flips open the display portion by lifting up on the display portion at a location near the front end of the device. The display portion is in a hinging relationship with the console portion so that when the user lifts up on display portion, the display portion is rotated upwards and away from the console portion. A transducer assembly is attached to the ultrasound diagnostic device and comprises a transducer cable, a transducer handle, a transducer and a transducer connector. The transducer connector comprises a latch which engages a mating mechanism comprised in a receptacle formed in the console portion. The connector enables different types of transducer assemblies to be implemented with the ultrasound diagnostic device, depending on the bodily feature being imaged. The ultrasound diagnostic device may be adapted to be harnessed with a carrying apparatus, e.g., a strap assembly, which enables the user to carry the device in a manner similar to the manner in which a person carries a camera around his or her neck. The user may operate the device when it is strapped to the user's body. The ultrasound device may include a handle to facilitate hand carriability.

Ultrasound diagnostic device

An ultrasound diagnostic device includes a console portion and a display portion. The console portion includes a control panel, which includes a plurality of input keys. A user may input commands on the control panel by actuating one or more keys on the control panel. The console portion comprises control circuitry, which controls the operations of the ultrasound diagnostic device. The control circuitry receives input signals from the control panel. The input signals correspond to commands entered by the user on the control panel. The control circuitry processes the electrical signals and performs operations on an ultrasound image being displayed on a display monitor. The ultrasound images being displayed on the display may be modified by the control circuitry in response to one or more keys of the control panel being actuated by the user. A transducer assembly connected to the console portion is used by the user to acquire ultrasound image information from a subject. Each of the keys on the console portion represent a particular function to be performed by the control circuitry on image information acquired by the transducer assembly. This &ldquo;one button per function&rdquo; feature of the invention utilizes icons, which inform the user of the function of each key. This feature of the invention renders the control panel suitable for use all over the world since the icons are capable of being understood by people of different nationalities. The overall size and weight of the ultrasound diagnostic device is reduced because the number of keys needed to operate the ultrasound diagnostic device is minimized. In another aspect of the invention, the ultrasound diagnostic device includes logic configured to allow the device to be localized by the user based on a number of different parameters, including, but not limited to, language, date appearance convention and decimal point convention.

Intuitive user interface and control circuitry including linear distance measurement and user localization in a portable ultrasound diagnostic device

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Stow, MA, United States of America

Peter Koester Rhoads