ULTRASOUND IMAGING WITH ACQUISITION OF IMAGING DATA IN PERPENDICULAR SCAN PLANES
First Claim
1. An ultrasonic imaging array comprising two independent, interleaved linear subarrays occupying a common array face, the subarrays being independently steerable and focusable in different imaging planes.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
An ultrasonic imaging array has two independent, interleaved linear subarrays occupying a common array face. The subarrays are independently steerable and focusable in different imaging planes. The subelements making up the elements in of the subarrays is preferably quadrilateral. Adjacent subelements in each element are electrically connected via an interconnect portion such that the interconnect portion connecting each pair of adjacent subelements in each element is substantially linear and is aligned with the diagonals of the adjacent subelements. A preferred acoustic lens is curved in both azimuth and elevation directions, whereby the subarrays are independently focusable. By transmitting in one plane and simultaneously receiving in a different, orthogonal plane, a system including the array can image a 3-D region of interest (ROI). In a volumetric embodiment of the invention two orthogonal B-mode images of a structure within the ROI are displayed simultaneously. The user may then trace the outlines of the images and the system therefrom calculates the volume of the structure.
102 Citations
28 Claims
- 1. An ultrasonic imaging array comprising two independent, interleaved linear subarrays occupying a common array face, the subarrays being independently steerable and focusable in different imaging planes.
- 14. A method for imaging a region of interest of a body using ultrasound comprising the steps of activating and independently steering in different imaging planes interleaved linear subarrays of ultrasound-generating elements occupying a common face of an ultrasound array.
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21. An ultrasonic imaging system comprising:
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an ultrasound transducer having two independent, interleaved linear subarrays occupying a common array face;
transmission control means for activating and independently steering the subarrays in different imaging planes;
reception means for receiving echo signals from insonified points within a region of interest and for converting the received echo signals into a predetermined display format; and
display means for displaying the converted echo signals. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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24. An ultrasonic imaging array comprising two independent, interleaved linear subarrays occupying a common array face, in which:
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each subarray comprises a plurality of elements and each element comprises at least one subelement;
each subelement is quadrilateral and has a diagonal;
adjacent subelements in each element are electrically connected via an interconnect portion;
the interconnect portion connecting each pair of adjacent subelements in each element is substantially linear and is aligned with the diagonals of the adjacent subelements;
the diagonals of all subelements in each element are aligned;
the first subelements comprise a first one of the subarrays;
the second subelements comprise a second one of the subarrays;
edges of the subelements extend in a first and a second direction; and
the first and second subelements are arranged in a pattern in which they alternate in both the first and second directions; and
the interconnect electrically connecting the subelements in each element is linear over the extent of the array face;
whereby each subarray constitutes an independent, unswitched aperture, the subarrays being independently steerable and focusable in different imaging planes.
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25. An ultrasonic system for volumetric measurement comprising:
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an ultrasound transducer having two independent, interleaved linear subarrays occupying a common array face;
transmission control means for independently activating and independently steering the subarrays in different imaging planes;
reception means for receiving echo signals from insonified points within a region of interest and for converting the received echo signals into a predetermined display format;
processing means for independently generating two orthogonal cross-sectional B-mode images of a region of interest;
display means for displaying the converted echo signals and for simultaneously displaying the two orthogonal cross-sectional B-mode images for a user;
input means maneuverable by the user for tracing a periphery of a body structure as displayed in a first one of the orthogonal cross-sectional B-mode images;
volume calculation means for measuring distance of movement of the array as a function of sequentially generated second ones of the B-mode images and for calculating a volume of the structure as a function of the products of areas within the traced periphery and the corresponding measured distances, summed over a purality of positions of the array.
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- 26. An acoustic lens for an ultrasound array, which has elements extending both an azimuth direction an elevation direction, which is orthogonal to the azimuth direction, the lens being curved in both the azimuth and elevation directions.
Specification