SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FLEXIBLE RATE PROCESSING OF ULTRASOUND DATA

• US 20100086187A1
• Filed: 09/23/2009
• Published: 04/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ultrasound Medical Devices, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ultrasound Medical Devices, Inc.
• Inventors: Hamilton, James
• Application Number:
  US12/565,662
• Publication Number:
  US 20100086187A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/131
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52034 Data rate converters
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10132 Ultrasound image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51

Abstract

The invention is directed at a method and system for flexible rate processing of ultrasound data. In one embodiment, the method includes acquiring ultrasound data at a data acquisition rate; setting an inter-frameset data rate; selecting frames from acquired ultrasound data to form a plurality of framesets, where the framesets are spaced according to the inter-frameset data rate; and processing the data at the controlled data rates. In another embodiment, the system includes a data acquisition controller that collects ultrasound data at an acquisition rate; a memory that stores the ultrasound data; and a data processor that selects framesets at an inter-frameset data rate, wherein a frameset is a set of frames selected from memory, performs processing on a frameset, and outputs processed data at a product rate.

Claims

1. A method for flexible rate processing of ultrasound data comprising:

acquiring ultrasound data at a data acquisition rate;

setting an inter-frameset data rate;

selecting frames from acquired ultrasound data to form a plurality of framesets, wherein the framesets are spaced according to the inter-frameset data rate; and

processing the data at the controlled data rates.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein processing of data is performed on a frameset of frames.

3. The method of claim 2, further including outputting data at the inter-frameset data rate.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the acquisition data rate is greater than the inter-frameset data rate.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the inter-frameset data rate is an integer factor of the acquisition data rate.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the frameset has at least two frames.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least two frames are consecutive frames of the acquired ultrasound data.

8. The method of claim 2, further comprising setting an intra-frameset data rate and selecting frames of a frameset according to the intra-frameset data rate.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the intra-frameset data rate equals the acquisition data rate.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein parameters of the framesets are set according to a requirement of the processing step.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the operation is speckle tracking.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising dynamically adjusting the inter-frameset data rate.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising dynamically adjusting the intra-frameset data rate.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the adjustments are made according to physiological motion.

15. A system for flexible rate processing of ultrasound data comprising:

a data acquisition controller that collects ultrasound data at an acquisition rate;

a memory that stores the ultrasound data; and

a data processor that

selects framesets at an inter-frameset data rate, wherein a frameset is a set of frames selected from memory,

performs processing on a frameset, and

outputs processed data at a product rate.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the memory is a buffer that temporarily stores the ultrasound data.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the processing on a frameset is speckle tracking.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the processor selects frames of a frameset at an intra-frameset data rate.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the frames of a frameset are consecutive.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the inter-frameset data rate and the intra-frameset data rate are dynamically adjusted according to physiological motion.