Modular ultrasound system

• US 10,154,829 B2
• Filed: 02/22/2017
• Issued: 12/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Edan Instruments, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Edan Instruments, Inc.
• Inventors: Henderson, Richard, Murphy, Sean
• Primary Examiner(s): BALAOING, ARIEL A
• Application Number:
  US15/439,690
• Publication Number:
  US 20170238901A1
• Time in Patent Office: 664 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4405 the apparatus being movable or portable, e.g. handheld or mounted on a trolley
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4411 the apparatus being modular A61B6/4283 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/462 characterised by constructional features of the display
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/464 involving a plurality of displays
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/467 characterised by special input means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4427 Device being portable or laptop-like
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/462 characterised by constructional features of the display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/162 changing, e.g. reversing, the face orientation of the screen with a two degrees of freedom mechanism, e.g. for folding into tablet PC like position or orienting towards the direction opposite to the user to show to a second user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

An ultrasound system includes a display, an actuator, a user interface, and a processing circuit. The actuator is configured to control at least one of a position or an orientation of the display. The user interface is configured to receive a user input. The processing circuit is configured to cause the actuator to adjust the at least one of the position or orientation of the display based on the user input.

Claims

1. An ultrasound system, comprising:

a display;

an actuator configured to control at least one of a position or an orientation of the display;

a user interface configured to receive a user input, the user input including a single gesture, the user input indicating at least one of a traverse command configured to cause the actuator to shift the display along a first axis, a swivel command configured to cause the actuator to rotate the display about a second axis, or a tilt command configured to cause the actuator to rotate the display about a third axis parallel to or collinear with the first axis; and

a processing circuit configured to translate the single gesture into at least two of the traverse command, the swivel command, or the tilt command and cause the actuator to adjust the at least one of the position or orientation of the display based on the user input.

2. The ultrasound system of claim 1, wherein the display includes at least one sensor on a perimeter of the display, and the user interface is configured to receive the user input via the at least one sensor.

3. The ultrasound system of claim 1, wherein the display includes a display control circuit configured to transmit a control command to the actuator based on an output command received from the processing circuit, the display control circuit configured to store state information regarding the display and control the display based on the stored state information.

4. The ultrasound system of claim 3, wherein the state information includes a default position of the display, and the display control circuit is configured to cause the display to be placed in the default position in response to receive at least one of a reset command, an indication of a power up of the processing circuit, or an indication of a power down of the processing circuit.

5. The ultrasound system of claim 1, wherein the actuator is configured to deactivate electronic control of the display.

6. The ultrasound system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is configured to identify a first magnitude of the user input and cause the actuator to adjust the at least one of the position or orientation of the display by a second magnitude corresponding to the first magnitude.

7. An ultrasound system, comprising:

a platform including a housing;

a display attached to the housing;

a drive system configured to adjust at least one of a position or an orientation of the display;

at least one sensor attached to the display, the at least one sensor configured to receive an indication of a user input, the at least one sensor configured to detect a force and a direction associated with the user input; and

a display control circuit configured to control operation of the drive system based on the indication of the user input by determining a movement for the display corresponding to the detected direction, comparing the force to a force threshold, and if the force is greater than the force threshold, causing the display to move according to the determined movement within a predetermined duration after the user input is received.

8. The ultrasound system of claim 7, wherein the at least one sensor includes a camera configured to track a position of a target, and generate the indication of the user input based on the tracked position of the target.

9. The ultrasound system of claim 7, wherein the at least one sensor includes:

a first sensor positioned in a first zone, the first sensor configured to generate the indication to indicate a traverse command;

a second sensor positioned in a second zone, the second sensor configured to generate the indication to indicate a swivel command; and

a third sensor positioned in a third zone, the third sensor configured to generate the indication to indicate a tilt command.

10. The ultrasound system of claim 7, wherein the drive system includes:

a tilt motor configured to rotate the display about a tilt axis parallel to and within a plane defined by the display;

a traverse motor configured to translate the display along a traverse axis extending from a first side of the platform to a second side of the platform; and

a swivel motor configured to rotate the display about a swivel axis perpendicular to the traverse axis.

11. The ultrasound system of claim 10, wherein the tilt motor, traverse motor, and swivel motor are located within the housing.

12. The ultrasound system of claim 10, wherein the display is configured to be located in a default position, and the drive system is configured to automatically align the display in the default position by translating the display to a center traverse position along the traverse axis, rotating the display to a center swivel position about the swivel axis, and subsequent to translating the display to the center swivel position and rotating the display to the center swivel position, rotating the display from a current tilt position to a tilt position corresponding to the default position.

13. The ultrasound system of claim 10, wherein the drive mechanism is configured to restrict motion of the display about the tilt axis when the display is outside of a center position along the traverse axis, and the ultrasound system includes a cam or ramp configured to align the display to a center swivel position about the swivel axis when the display is rotated to a default position.

14. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a user interface, a user input indicating a command to control at least one of a position or an orientation of an ultrasound display;

extracting the command from the user input;

by a processing circuit; and

controlling, by the processing circuit using a drive system in a second mode in which the drive system is engaged to the display, the at least one of the position or orientation of the ultrasound display based on the command responsive to the command indicating a second force received at the user interface greater than a second force threshold, the second force threshold greater than a first force threshold, wherein the display moves in response to receiving a first force greater than the first force threshold in a first mode of the drive system in which the drive system is disengaged from the ultrasound display.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising storing, by a display control circuit, state information including a default position of the display, and causing the display to be placed in the default position in response to receiving at least one of a reset command, an indication of a power up of the processing circuit, or an indication of a power down of the processing circuit.