Color ensemble interleave with artifact elimination in time-gated anatomical imaging

• US 20040215077A1
• Filed: 05/27/2004
• Published: 10/28/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Witt, Jerome F., Poland, McKee D.
• Application Number:
  US10/855,063
• Publication Number:
  US 20040215077A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/443
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/352 Detecting R peaks, e.g. for synchronising diagnostic apparatus; Estimating R-R interval
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7207 of noise induced by motion artifacts
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/5264 due to motion
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/541 involving acquisition triggered by a physiological signal
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/06 Measuring blood flow measuring volume flow in general G01F, e.g. G01F1/66, G01F1/72; measuring speed of fluids in general G01P5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/13 Tomography A61B8/10, A61B8/12 take precedence; tomography for radiation diagnosis A61B6/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/483 involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52077 with means for elimination of unwanted signals, e.g. noise or interference
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52085 Details related to the ultrasound signal acquisition, e.g. scan sequences control of medical diagnostic ultrasound devices A61B8/54
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52087 using synchronization techniques control of medical diagnostic ultrasound devices involving acquisition triggered by a physiological signal A61B8/543
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52088 involving retrospective scan line rearrangements medical diagnostic ultrasound devices involving retrospective matching to a physiological signal A61B8/5284
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52095 using multiline receive beamforming

Abstract

A method for anatomical imaging includes configuring a sequence of scan lines for scanning of three-dimensional volume segments of an image volume in a subject. The sequence of scan lines is configured in a zig-zag order for minimizing an occurrence of motion artifacts between slices of the volume segments and throughout the image volume. Image data is acquired as a function of the sequence of scan lines and in synchronism with physiological cycles of the subject. The image data is representative of the volume segments of the image volume, wherein each volume segment contains image data distributed in three dimensions. The image data representative of the volume segments is combined to produce a representation of a three-dimensional anatomical image of the image volume. Furthermore, the method includes 3D color flow imaging wherein N slices per subvolume are scanned using zig-zag scanning across the N slices and along a width dimension of the subvolume. The method also includes slice reversal zig-zag scanning between neighboring subvolumes.

Claims

1. A method for anatomical imaging, comprising:

configuring a sequence of scan lines for scanning of three-dimensional volume segments of an image volume in a subject, the sequence of scan lines being configured in a zig-zag order for minimizing an occurrence of motion artifacts between slices of the volume segments and throughout the image volume;

acquiring image data as a function of the sequence of scan lines and in synchronism with physiological cycles of the subject, the image data being representative of the volume segments of the image volume and wherein each volume segment contains image data distributed in three dimensions; and

combining the image data representative of the volume segments to produce a representation of a three-dimensional anatomical image of the image volume.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring the zig-zag scan line sequence further includes minimizing time discontinuities within each volume segment, in addition to minimizing time discontinuities across adjacent volume segment boundaries.

3. The method of claim 2, further wherein minimizing time discontinuities with each volume segment includes configuring individual scan lines of the sequence to reduce a local time gradient throughout the volume segment

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the local time gradient throughout the volume segment is on the order of less than ten percent (10%) of a total time for acquiring image data for the volume segment.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the zig-zag scan line sequence is further configured to include scanning a volume segment so that boundary sides of neighboring slices with the volume segment are acquired at approximately the same phase of the physiological cycle when the anatomical feature is in substantially the same position during a single physiological cycle.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the zig-zag scan line sequence is further configured to scan portions of the image volume at different times.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the zig-zag scan line sequence includes zig-zag scan lines within a volume segment configured to substantially eliminate any discontinuities across adjacent volume segment boundaries.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the zig-zag scan line sequence within a volume segment begins in a direction oriented 90 degrees from a principal direction of the volume segment.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the zig-zag scan line sequence of a volume segment is mirror-imaged with the zig-zag scan line sequence of an adjacent volume segment, so as to substantially eliminate any discontinuities across a respective volume segment boundary between adjacent volume segments.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the zig-zag scan line sequence is further configured for reducing a maximum amount of time between adjacent scan lines in a same volume segment, and thus reducing distortion and artifacts within individual volume segments, further wherein the volume segment is narrower in a first direction than in a second direction.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the zig-zag scan line sequence includes a scan firing order that zig-zags through the slices of a volume segment as the scan order progresses across a length and width of the respective volume segment.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the volume segment includes four two-dimensional slices.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the volume segment includes two two-dimensional slices.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the zig-zag scan line sequence includes slice reversal zig-zag scanning between adjacent volume segments.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the zig-zag scan order line sequence further includes a scan firing order of a first volume segment that zig-zags across its volume segment slices in a first zig-zag firing order and a scan firing order of a second volume segment that zig-zags across its volume segment slices in a second zig-zag firing order, wherein the second zig-zag firing order is a mirror of the first firing order.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the second volume segment is adjacent to the first volume segment.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the zig-zag scan order line sequence further includes a scan firing order for adjacent volume segments that is repeated with no reversal of the zig-zag scan firing order between the adjacent volume segments.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the zig-zag scan order line sequence includes a zig-zag scan firing order that begins at one end of a volume segment and continues to zig-zag across the slices of the volume segment along the volume segment until reaching an opposite end of the volume segment.

19. A system for anatomical imaging, comprising:

an acquisition unit for acquiring image data representative of three-dimensional volume segments of an image volume of interest in a subject, in synchronism with corresponding physiological cycles of the subject, each of the volume segments containing image data distributed in three dimensions, wherein acquiring image data includes configuring a sequence of scan lines for scanning of volume segments in a zig-zag order for minimizing an occurrence of motion artifacts between slices of the volume segments and throughout the image volume; and

a controller for combining the image data representative of the volume segments to produce a representation of a three-dimensional anatomical image of the image volume.

20. Apparatus for medical ultrasound imaging, comprising:

a transducer comprising an array of transducer elements;

a transmitter for transmitting ultrasound energy with said transducer into an image volume of interest in a subject'"'"'s body as a plurality of transmit beams;

a receiver for receiving ultrasound echoes with said transducer from the image volume in response to the ultrasound energy and for generating received signals representative of the received ultrasound echoes;

a receive beamformer for processing the received signals to form at least one receive beam for each of the transmit beams and to generate image data representative of the ultrasound echoes in the receive beam;

a device coupled to the subject for generating a signal representative of a physiological cycle of the subject;

a controller responsive to the physiological signal for controlling said transmitter and said receive beamformer to acquire image data representative of three-dimensional volume segments of the image volume in synchronism with corresponding physiological cycles of the subject, each of the volume segments containing image data distributed in three dimensions, wherein acquiring image data includes configuring a sequence of scan lines for scanning of volume segments in a zig-zag order for minimizing an occurrence of motion artifacts between slices of the volume segments and throughout the image volume; and

a circuit for combining the image data representative of the volume segments to produce a representation of a three-dimensional ultrasound image of the image volume.