The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 15, 2017
Filed:
Jan. 21, 2015
Koninklijke Philips N.v., Eindhoven, NL;
Yinhui Deng, Shanghai, CN;
Xiaomin Li, Shanghai, CN;
Xiaolin Gu, Shanghai, CN;
Vijay Thakur Shamdasani, Kenmore, WA (US);
Ying Wu, Shanghai, CN;
Koninklijke Philips N.V., Eindhoven, NL;
Abstract
The present invention provides an ultrasound imaging system and an ultrasound imaging method for improving the imaging quality of the desired imaging plane in the volume of interest of a subject. According to the present invention, it is possible to directly scan the desired imaging plane by exploiting the capability of a 2D matrix ultrasound transducer and/or the flexibility of the position/orientation of the ultrasound probe. In some cases, the setting parameters of the transducer elements can be adjusted so that the ultrasound signal transmitted from the transducer elements is able to derive ultrasound echo data of the desired imaging plane without moving the probe. In other cases where the desired imaging plane cannot be directly scanned without changing the position/orientation of the ultrasound probe, the position/orientation of the ultrasound probe can be adjusted by means of user interaction, namely by outputting the instruction for guiding the user to move the probe so as to enable direct scanning of the desired imaging plane. In this way, the image of the desired imaging plane is not reconstructed by interpolation of the ultrasound echo data of the plurality of scanning planes (which are determined by the setting parameters of the transducer elements), but instead it is reconstructed from the ultrasound echo data of the desired imaging plane itself. In other words, the desired imaging plane is directly scanned. Thus, the image quality of the desired imaging plane is improved and may help doctors conduct a more accurate diagnosis.