Determining the power of an ultrasound reflection using an autocorrelation technique

• US 20040220474A1
• Filed: 01/26/2004
• Published: 11/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Allez Physionix Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Allez Physionix Ltd.
• Inventors: Abend, Kenneth, Miller, Christopher X.
• Application Number:
  US10/764,657
• Publication Number:
  US 20040220474A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/437
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8979 Combined Doppler and pulse-echo imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8993 Three dimensional imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52026 Extracting wanted echo signals Doppler systems G01S15/50; Doppler short range imaging systems G01S15/8979
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52034 Data rate converters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/5206 Two-dimensional coordinated display of distance and direction; B-scan display
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52061 Plan position indication (PPI display); C-scan display
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52065 Compound scan display, e.g. panoramic imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52071 Multicolour displays; using colour coding; Optimising colour or information content in displays, e.g. parametric imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52073 Production of cursor lines, markers or indicia by electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52074 Composite displays, e.g. split-screen displays; Combination of multiple images or of images and alphanumeric tabular information
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52079 Constructional features constructional features of transducers B06B; mounting transducers G10K11/00; constructional features of ultrasonic medical diagnostic devices A61B8/44

Abstract

Doppler shifted reflection of ultrasonic energy are detected to measure and display the flow of particle-containing fluid, such as blood, through a body. The phase and magnitude of the autocorrelation function at a lag of one calculated from detecting and comparing the reflections from succeeding ultrasonic pulses are used as indication of the presence and velocity of fluid flow at each point in the body. The resulting data are stored and used as element of a graphic display of fluid flow.

Claims

1. A method for determining the amount of flow of a particle-containing fluid at a determined location in a subject body comprising:

a) transmitting a series of pulses of ultrasonic energy into the body from a probe, the probe consisting essentially of an array of transmitter elements and detector elements;

b) detecting reflections of energy originating in each pulse of the seriese of pulses from the location;

c) filtering resulting detected signals to separate out Doppler shifted signals from each pulse;

d) comparing the Doppler shifted signal from each pulse with the Doppler shifted signal from the subsequent pulse to calculate the magnitude and phase of an autocorrelation function at a lag of one; and

e) analyzing the phase of the autocorrelation function at a lag of one to determine an average velocity of flow of the fluid at the determined location and analyzing the magnitude of the autocorrelation function at a lag of one to indicate the flow at the determined location.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising storing the velocity and indication of fluid flow at the determined location in a memory.

3. The method of claim 1 comprising displaying the velocity and indication of fluid flow at the determined location as a point in a graphic display of fluid flow in the subject body.