ADAPTIVE COLOR DOPPLER IMAGE FORMATION

• US 20100056923A1
• Filed: 08/25/2009
• Published: 03/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Medison Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Medison Co., Ltd. (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: KIM, Jong Sik, HYUN, Dong Gyu
• Granted Patent: US 9,642,590 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/454
• 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 8/463 characterised by displaying multiple images or images and diagnostic data on one display composite display in devices for short-range imaging with acoustic waves G01S7/52074
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/54 Control of the diagnostic device
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/585 Automatic set-up of the device
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8979 Combined Doppler and pulse-echo imaging systems
• 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

Abstract

Embodiments for adaptively forming color Doppler images in an ultrasound diagnostic system are disclosed. A method of forming a color Doppler image in an ultrasound diagnostic system comprises: scanning a first set of scan lines set at a full scan region to detect at least one scan line that passes a moving object in the full scan region among the first set of scan lines; setting a second set of scan lines based on the detected scan lines; and scanning the second set of scan lines to form a first color Doppler image.

Claims

1. A method of forming a color Doppler image in an ultrasound diagnostic system, comprising:

scanning a first set of scan lines set at a full scan region to detect at least one scan line that passes a moving object in the full scan region among the first set of scan lines;

setting a second set of scan lines based on the detected scan lines; and

scanning the second set of scan lines to form a first color Doppler image.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the moving object includes a blood flow and a blood vessel.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming a second color Doppler image based on the scanning of the first set of scan lines.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second set of scan lines is denser than the first set of scan lines.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second set of scan lines includes the detected scan lines and neighboring scan lines thereof.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the scanning of the second set of scan lines is carried out up to a depth of the moving object.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of scan lines is set to have a uniform scan line density.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of scan lines is set with different scan line densities.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first set of scan lines is set based on a possibility of existence of the moving object.

10. An ultrasound diagnostic system, comprising:

a probe configured to transmit ultrasound signals into a target object and receive echo signals reflected from the target object to thereby output receive signals, the receive signals including first receive signals obtained by scanning a first set of scan lines set at a full scan region; and

an image processing unit configured to detect at least one scan line that passes a moving object in the full scan region among the first set of scan lines based on the first receive signals, the image processing unit being further configured to set a second set of scan lines based on the detected scan lines,

wherein the probe is further configured to scan the second set of scan lines to thereby output second receive signals, and wherein the image processing unit is further configured to form a first color Doppler image based on the second receive signals.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the moving object includes a blood flow and a blood vessel.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the image processing unit is further configured to form a second color Doppler image based on the first receive signals and a third color Doppler image by compounding the first and second color Doppler images.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the second set of scan lines is denser than the first set of scan lines.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the second set of scan lines includes the detected scan lines and neighboring scan lines thereof.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein scanning the second set of scan lines is carried out up to a depth of the moving object.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the first set of scan lines is set to have a uniform scan line density.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the first set of scan lines is set with different scan line densities.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the first set of scan lines is set based on a possibility of existence of the moving object.