Spread spectrum coded waveforms in ultrasound diagnostics

• US 10,085,722 B2
• Filed: 01/19/2018
• Issued: 10/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Decision Sciences International Corporation
• Original Assignee: Decision Sciences International Corporation
• Inventors: Wegner, Allan
• Primary Examiner(s): ROZANSKI, MICHAEL T
• Application Number:
  US15/876,081
• Publication Number:
  US 20180153518A1
• Time in Patent Office: 256 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/725 using specific filters therefor, e.g. Kalman or adaptive filters A61B5/316 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/145 characterised by scanning multiple planes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4483 characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4488 the transducer being a phased array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4494 characterised by the arrangement of the transducer elements devices for short-range imaging using particular transducer elements arrangements under G01S15/8909; arrangements of transducers in generation of mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic or ultrasonic frequency B06B1/0607
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/463 characterised by displaying multiple images or images and diagnostic data on one display composite display in devices for short-range imaging with acoustic waves G01S7/52074
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/467 characterised by special input means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/488 involving Doppler signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5207 involving processing of raw data to produce diagnostic data, e.g. for generating an image reconstruction G06T11/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5223 for extracting a diagnostic or physiological parameter from medical diagnostic data for algorithms to analyse biomedical images G06T7/0012
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/54 Control of the diagnostic device
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8915 using a transducer array
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8927 using simultaneously or sequentially two or more subarrays or subapertures
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8952 using discrete, multiple frequencies
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8959 using coded signals for correlation purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8979 Combined Doppler and pulse-echo imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/5202 for pulse systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52047 for elimination of side lobes or of grating lobes; for increasing resolving power
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52071 Multicolour displays; using colour coding; Optimising colour or information content in displays, e.g. parametric imaging

Abstract

Techniques, systems, and devices are disclosed for ultrasound diagnostics using spread spectrum, coherent, frequency- and/or phase-coded waveforms. In one aspect, a method includes synthesizing individual orthogonal coded waveforms to form a composite waveform for transmission toward a biological material of interest, in which the synthesized individual orthogonal coded waveforms correspond to distinct frequency bands and include one or both of frequency-coded or phase-coded waveforms; transmitting a composite acoustic waveform toward the biological material of interest, where the transmitting includes transducing the individual orthogonal coded waveforms into corresponding acoustic waveforms to form the composite acoustic waveform; receiving acoustic waveforms returned from at least part of the biological material of interest corresponding to at least some of the transmitted acoustic waveforms that form the composite acoustic waveform; and processing the received returned acoustic waveforms to produce an image of at least part of the biological material of interest.

Claims

1. An acoustic imaging system, comprising:

a waveform generation unit comprising one or more waveform synthesizers and amplifiers coupled to a waveform generator, the waveform generation unit to synthesize a composite waveform comprising individual orthogonal coded waveforms corresponding to distinct frequency bands that are generated by the one or more waveform synthesizers according to waveform information provided by the waveform generator, wherein the individual orthogonal coded waveforms include one or both of frequency-coded or phase-coded waveforms wherein the individual orthogonal frequency-coded waveforms include two or more carrier frequencies corresponding to the frequency bands;

a transmitter array of transducer elements in communication with the waveform generation unit to transmit acoustic waveforms forming a composite acoustic waveform based on drive signals produced from the individual orthogonal coded waveforms of the composite waveform toward a biological material, wherein the transmitter array of transducer elements is partitioned into two or more subarrays such that at least one of the two or more subarrays is individually amplitude weighted and at least one of the two or more subarrays is individually phase weighted for at least one frequency band of the frequency bands corresponding to the transmitted acoustic waveforms and combined, thereby providing enhanced cross-range resolution;

a receiver array of transducer elements to receive returned acoustic waveforms returned from at least part of the biological material, wherein the received returned acoustic waveforms correspond to at least some of the transmitted acoustic waveforms of the composite acoustic waveform, wherein the receiver array of transducer elements is partitioned into two or more subarrays such that at least one of the two or more subarrays of the receiver array is individually amplitude weighted and at least one of the two or more subarrays of the receiver array is individually phase weighted for at least one frequency band of the frequency bands corresponding to the received returned acoustic waveforms and combined, thereby providing enhanced cross-range resolution; and

a controller unit in communication with the waveform generation unit and the transmitter and receiver arrays, the controller unit including a processing unit to process the received returned acoustic waveforms to produce an image of at least part of the biological material.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a user interface unit including a display and in communication with the controller unit to display the produced image.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the user interface unit includes one or more user interface devices in communication with the controller unit to receive input from an operator of the system.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the input includes a mode of operation, including:

an ATS-Mode (Artificial Tissue Staining Mode) for imaging biological tissue that enables image color coding based on at least one feature of one or more measured properties that are obtained from the returned acoustic waveforms, or

a CAD-Mode (Computer Aided Diagnostic Mode) for imaging biological tissue that uses one or more algorithmic classifiers to classify biological tissue types using at least one feature of one or more measured properties that are obtained from the returned acoustic waveforms.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the display of the user interface unit is operable to display a color coded image of the biological material based on classified biological tissue types.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the transmitter array and the receiver array include the same transducer elements, and the system further comprises:

a transmit/receive switching unit in communication with the waveform generation unit and the transmitter and receiver arrays to switch between a transmit mode to transmit the transmitted acoustic waveforms and a receive mode to receive the returned acoustic waveforms.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the one or more amplifiers of the waveform generation unit are communicatively coupled between the transmit/receive switching unit and the one or more waveform synthesizers to modify the individual orthogonal coded waveforms of the composite waveform.

8. The system of claim 6, further comprising:

an array of analog to digital (A/D) converters in communication with the receiver array and the controller unit to convert the received returned acoustic waveforms from analog format to digital format; and

an array of one or more pre-amplifiers configured between the transmit/receive switching unit and the array of A/D converters that modifies the received returned acoustic waveforms.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

an array of analog to digital (A/D) converters in communication with the receiver array and the controller unit to convert the received returned acoustic waveforms from analog format to digital format.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the phase-coded waveforms includes a frequency chip phase component that is a pseudo-random number.