Ultrasound imaging system having automatic image presentation

• US 10,646,201 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2015
• Issued: 05/12/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: C.R. Bard, Inc. (Becton, Dickinson & Co)
• Original Assignee: C.R. Bard, Inc. (Becton, Dickinson & Co)
• Inventors: Cox, Jeremy B., Randall, Michael A., Zheng, Peng, Radochonski, Samuel J., Addison, Dean M., Matthews, Bryan A., Addison, Jeffery L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rozanski, Michael T
• Application Number:
  US15/525,319
• Publication Number:
  US 20180279996A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,642 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0841 for locating instruments
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0891 for diagnosis of blood vessels
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4254 using sensors mounted on the probe
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4263 using sensors not mounted on the probe, e.g. mounted on an external reference frame
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4405 Device being mounted on a trolley
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/466 adapted to display 3D data 3D imaging and stereoscopic displays in devices for short-range imaging with acoustic waves G01S15/8993 and G01S7/52068, respectively; 3D image rendering G06T15/00; manipulating 3D models for computer graphics G06T19/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/483 involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/488 involving Doppler signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/52 Devices using data or image processing specially adapted for diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves image processing per se G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10136 3D ultrasound image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30104 Vascular flow; Blood flow; Perfusion
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/215 Motion-based segmentation

Abstract

An apparatus and method of generating a 3D ultrasound image includes acquiring a 3D volumetric data set corresponding to a 3D imaging volume of an ultrasound probe in a 3D detection volume; acquiring a position of the ultrasound probe with respect to the 3D detection volume; acquiring a position of an interventional medical device with respect to the 3D detection volume; determining a position of the interventional medical device relative to the 3D imaging volume of the ultrasound probe; determining an interventional medical device-aligned plane that intersects with a longitudinal axis of the interventional medical device; extracting a texture slice from the 3D imaging volume for a corresponding interventional medical device-aligned plane positional and rotational orientation; mapping the texture slice onto the interventional medical device-aligned plane; and rendering the interventional medical device-aligned plane as a 3D ultrasound image and displaying the rendered 3D ultrasound image on a display screen.

Claims

1. An ultrasound probe, comprising:

a housing having an upper surface, an under surface, and a scanning aperture in the under surface;

a first one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array and a second one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array contained in the housing, the first one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array and the second one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array being configured to scan through the scanning aperture in a downward direction below the housing of the ultrasound probe, the first one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array and the second one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array being oriented in a first direction, the second one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array being arranged in parallel with the first one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array;

a first electromechanical drive contained within the housing, the first electromechanical drive configured to move the first one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array in a first transverse direction perpendicular to the first direction to define a first sweep pattern;

a second electromechanical drive contained within the housing, the second electromechanical drive configured to move the second one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array in a second transverse direction perpendicular to the first direction to define a second sweep pattern; and

an electronic control circuit electrically coupled to the first electromechanical drive and to the second electromechanical drive, the electronic control circuit configured to provide first control signals to each of the first electromechanical drive and the second electromechanical drive to generate a first composite sweep pattern of the first one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array and the second one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array as a combination of the first sweep pattern and the second sweep pattern.

2. The ultrasound probe according to claim 1, wherein the first composite sweep pattern has a first composite sweep area in which the first one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array and the second one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array generate a first 3-D ultrasound data set.

3. The ultrasound probe according to claim 2, wherein the electronic control circuit is configured to select a desired 2-D slice location within the first 3-D ultrasound data set.

4. The ultrasound probe of claim 3, wherein the electronic control circuit is configured to provide second control signals, representative of the desired 2-D slice location, to each of the first electromechanical drive and second electromechanical drive to modify a sweeping range of each of the first sweep pattern and the second sweep pattern to generate a second composite sweep pattern.

5. The ultrasound probe according to claim 4, wherein the second composite sweep pattern has a second composite sweep area in which the first one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array and the second one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array generate a second 3-D ultrasound data set.

6. The ultrasound probe according to claim 5, wherein the second composite sweep area is smaller than the first composite sweep area and the second 3-D ultrasound data set contains less data than the first 3-D ultrasound data set while including the desired 2-D slice location.

7. The ultrasound probe of claim 1, wherein each of the first electromechanical drive and the second electromechanical drive is configured for independent operation relative to each other.

8. The ultrasound probe of claim 1, wherein each of the first sweep pattern and the second sweep pattern is adjustable as to the extent of the respective sweep pattern.

9. The ultrasound probe of claim 1, wherein the first transverse direction and the second transverse direction are the same direction.

10. The ultrasound probe of claim 1, wherein the first transverse direction and the second transverse direction are opposite directions.

11. The ultrasound probe of claim 1, wherein the first electromechanical drive comprises:

a first motor having a first shaft;

a first cantilever arm having a first cantilever arm distal end and a first cantilever arm proximal end;

a second cantilever arm having a second cantilever arm distal end and a second cantilever arm proximal end, and

a pivot pin having a pivot axis extending in the first direction,

wherein the first shaft is coupled to the first cantilever arm proximal end, the first cantilever arm distal end is coupled to the first one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array, the second cantilever arm distal end is coupled to the first one-dimensional ultrasound transducer array, the second cantilever arm proximal end is rotatably coupled to the pivot pin, the pivot pin is axially aligned with the first shaft of the first motor on the pivot axis.