MEASURING TRANSDUCER MOVEMENT METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR MULTI-DIMENSIONAL ULTRASOUND IMAGING

• US 20090012396A1
• Filed: 09/12/2008
• Published: 01/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Robinson, Craig B., Czenszak, Stephen P., Jones, Paul H., Deforge, Christian, Freiburger, Paul D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,862,509 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/437
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/00 Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves imaging of objects using sonar G01S15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4254 using sensors mounted on the probe
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/483 involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data

Abstract

Methods and systems for measuring transducer movement are provided. For example, free-hand scanning for three-dimensional imaging is provided. An optical sensor within the transducer measures motion along the skin surface similar to measuring movement of a personal computer mouse with an optical sensor. Alternatively or additionally, the transducer is tilted at an angle other than perpendicular to the skin surface generally towards or away from the direction in which the transducer is translated. The transducer is then translated while maintaining the angle. Motion to or from the transducer is measured, and a component of the motion measured while the transducer is maintained at an angle is parallel to the direction of translation. The component of motion is angle corrected and used to determine a distance of travel.

Claims

1-17. -17. (canceled)

18. A method for measuring transducer movement for multi-dimensional ultrasound imaging, the method comprising:

moving, by free-hand motion, a transducer across a patient'"'"'s skin;

scanning a plurality of planes below the patients skin with ultrasound from the transducer, the plurality of planes at different locations within the patient due to the moving;

directing an optical sensor and a blue-green light source at the patients skin during the moving;

determining the different locations of the plurality of planes with the optical sensor responsive to blue-green light from the blue-green light source reflected from the patient skin; and

rendering, from data responsive to the scanning, a three-dimensional representation as a function of the different locations.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein directing blue-green light comprises directing light with a wavelength around 400 nanometers.

23. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

positioning the transducer at an angle other than perpendicular to the patient'"'"'s skin;

translating at least a portion of the transducer on the patient'"'"'s skin during the scanning; and

measuring, from ultrasound data, a first distance of the transducer translation during translating, the first distance being a function of the angle.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein translating comprises translating the transducer while substantially maintaining the angle.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein positioning comprises positioning the transducer at about 60 degrees from perpendicular to the patient'"'"'s skin, the transducer comprising a linear array with both ends of the array about a same distance from the skin surface.

26. The method of claim 23 wherein measuring comprises measuring a first motion along a scan line and determining a second motion parallel to the patient'"'"'s skin as a function of the angle and the first motion.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the first motion comprises a Doppler velocity detected from ultrasound data along the scan line.

28. The method of claim 26 wherein measuring comprises measuring the first motion in response to a cross-correlation of beamformed data prior to detection.

29. The method of claim 23 further comprising:

determining the different locations from the first distance and with the optical sensor.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein determining comprises averaging the first distance with a second distance determined with the optical sensor.

20. A system for measuring transducer movement for multi-dimensional ultrasound imaging, the system comprising:

a transducer positioned adjacent a housing surface of a probe such that the transducer is operable to transmit acoustic energy through the housing surface and into a patient;

an optical sensor connected with the transducer, the optical sensor comprising a blue-green light source and a camera, the camera directed to receive light reflected of patient skin from the blue-green light; and

a processor operable to determine, in response to a signal from the optical sensor, relative locations of scan planes due to movement of the transducer.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein the camera comprises a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor sensor.

22. The system of claim 20 further comprising a three-dimensional imaging processor operable to render an image from ultrasound data associated with the scan planes, the rendering responsive to the relative locations of the scan planes.

32. The system of claim 20 wherein the processor is operable to determine the relative locations as a function of a substantially maintained transducer angle other than perpendicular to the patient skin and as a function of measured motion from ultrasound data.

33. The system of claim 32 further comprising a user input connected with the processor, the user input operable to receive an indication of the angle.

34. The system of claim 32 wherein the processor comprises, in part, a flow detector operable to detect a first motion along a scan line, the processor operable to determine a second motion parallel to the skin surface as a function of the angle and the first motion.

35. The system of claim 32 wherein the processor is operable to measure the motion in response to a cross-correlation of beamformed data prior to detection.

36. The system of claim 20 further comprising:

an adaptor connected with the transducer, wherein the optical sensor is on the adaptor such that the optical sensor is directed towards the patient skin.