System and method for multipath processing of image signals

• US 10,420,530 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2013
• Issued: 09/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Volcano Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Volcano Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Hancock, Andrew, Mai, Jerome, Hoffman, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Pehlke, Carolyn A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Saboktakin, Marjan
• Application Number:
  US14/106,260
• Publication Number:
  US 20140180105A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,111 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/12 in body cavities or body tracts, e.g. by using catheters catheters per se A61M25/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/464 involving a plurality of displays
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/467 characterised by special input means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/56 Details of data transmission or power supply
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8956 using frequencies at or above 20 MHz
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52053 Display arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52082 involving a modular construction, e.g. a computer with short range imaging equipment modular ultrasonic medical diagnostic devices A61B8/4411
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52084 related to particular user interfaces special user input means for ultrasonic medical diagnostic devices A61B8/467

Abstract

The invention generally relates to intravascular imaging system and particularly to processing in multimodal systems. The invention provides an imaging system that splits incoming image data into two signals and performs the same processing step on each of the split signals. The system can then send the two signals down two processing pathways. Methods include receiving an analog image signal, transmitting the received signal to a processing system, splitting the signal to produce a first image signal and a second image signal, and performing a processing operation on the first image signal and the second image signal. The first and second signal include substantially the same information as one another.

Claims

1. A method of imaging tissue, the method comprising:

receiving, in a processing system, a single analog image signal from an ultrasonic transducer at a distal portion of an elongated catheter positioned within a blood vessel of a patient, a proximal portion of the elongated catheter coupled to the processing system; and

using the processing system to;

digitize, using an analog-to-digital converter, the single analog image signal to a digital image signal;

split the digital image signal to produce a first image signal and a second image signal, the first image signal comprising a copy of the second image signal;

perform a first processing operation on the first image signal on a first signal path and perform the first processing operation on the second image signal on a second signal path;

receive user input to re-configure the first signal path to perform a second processing operation on only the first image signal to subtract ringdown artifacts;

derive a first type of image from at least the first image signal after re-configuration of the first signal path; and

derive a second type of image from the second image signal, including the ringdown artifacts.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first processing operation comprises time gain compensation (TGC) amplification.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first processing operation is performed within a field programmable gate array and the processed first image signal is substantially the same as the processed second image signal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first processing operation is performed using one selected from the list consisting of a field-programmable gate array, an application-specific integrated processor, a time-gain compensation amplifier, a low-band pass filter, and a massively parallel processor array.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first type of image comprises a B-mode grayscale image and the second type of image comprises a virtual histology image.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein deriving the second type of image includes performing tissue characterization on the second image signal including the ringdown artifacts.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the first processing operation on the first image signal prior to re-configuration of the first signal path generates a first processed image signal which is the same as a second processed image signal generated responsive to performing the first processing operation on the second image signal.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the user input to re-configure the first signal path includes user input to turn off one or more processing steps of the first signal path, and wherein the user input to re-configure the first signal path does not affect a number of processing steps of the second signal path.

9. An intravascular ultrasound imaging system, the system comprising:

an elongated catheter comprising an ultrasound transducer at a distal portion of the elongated catheter, wherein the elongated catheter is coupled to a processing system at a proximal portion of the elongated catheter, and wherein the processing system is operable to;

receive a single analog image signal from the ultrasound transducer;

digitize, using an analog-to-digital converter, the single analog image signal to a digital image signal;

split the digital image signal into a first image signal and a second image signal, the first image signal comprising a copy of the second image signal;

perform a first processing operation on the first image signal along a first signal path and perform the same first processing operation on the second image signal along a second signal path;

receive user input to re-configure the first signal path to perform a second processing operation on only the first image signal to subtract ringdown artifacts;

derive a first type of image from the first image signal following a re-configuration of the first signal path; and

derive a second type of image from the second image signal, including the ringdown artifacts.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the processing system comprises:

a time gain compensation amplifier operable to produce a TGC amplified first signal and a TGC amplified second signal.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing system further comprises a field-programmable gate array configured to perform the first processing operation to produce a processed first image signal and a processed second image signal, wherein the processed first image signal is substantially the same as the processed second image signal.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the processing system further comprises one selected from the list consisting of a field-programmable gate array, an application-specific integrated processor, a time-gain compensation amplifier, a low-band pass filter, and a massively parallel processor array.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the first type of image comprises a B-mode grayscale image and the second type of image comprises a virtual histology image.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the processing system is operable to derive the second type of image by performing tissue characterization on the second image signal including the ringdown artifacts.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the processing system includes a tunable processor configured to receive the user input to re-configure the first signal path.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the tunable processor comprises a graphics equalizer.

17. The system of claim 9, further comprising a control panel including at least one switch configured to turn off at least one processing operation along only the first signal path without affecting processing operations along the second signal path.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising a neural network associated with the second signal path.