Ultrasound Imaging System
First Claim
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1. An ultrasound imaging system, comprising:
- a control device configured to receive a user indication of a requirement of analysis of a material under investigation, the control device further configured to determine a number and shape of ultrasound beams for imaging of the material under investigation in accordance with the user indication;
a transducer array configured to transmit ultrasound beams corresponding to the number and shape of ultrasound beams determined by the control device into the material under investigation, the transducer array further configured to detect echoes produced by the transmitted ultrasound beams and generate analog channel data responsive to the detected echoes;
a multi-channel analog-to-digital converter configured to generate digital channel data, the digital channel data including amplitude and phase information;
a channel data buffer configured to store the digital channel dataa signal processor configured to generate multidimensional echolocation data through transformation of at least the amplitude and phase information of the stored digital channel, wherein the multidimensional echolocation data is generated without using transmit, receive, or scan lines;
an echolocation data array configured to store the generated multidimensional echolocation data, wherein the echolocation data array comprises a pre-selected coordinate system; and
an image converter configured to generate an image for display on a display device, wherein the multidimensional echolocation data stored in the pre-selected coordinate system of the echolocation data array is mapped to a specific location on the display device.
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Abstract
Methods of probing a material under investigation using an ultrasound beam. Echolocation data is generated using a multi-dimensional transform capable of using phase and magnitude information to distinguish echoes resulting from ultrasound beam components produced using different ultrasound transducers. Since the multi-dimensional transform does not depend on using receive or transmit beam lines, a multi-dimensional area can be imaged using a single ultrasound transmission. In some embodiments, this ability increases image frame rate and reduces the amount of ultrasound energy required to generate an image.
110 Citations
1 Claim
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1. An ultrasound imaging system, comprising:
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a control device configured to receive a user indication of a requirement of analysis of a material under investigation, the control device further configured to determine a number and shape of ultrasound beams for imaging of the material under investigation in accordance with the user indication; a transducer array configured to transmit ultrasound beams corresponding to the number and shape of ultrasound beams determined by the control device into the material under investigation, the transducer array further configured to detect echoes produced by the transmitted ultrasound beams and generate analog channel data responsive to the detected echoes; a multi-channel analog-to-digital converter configured to generate digital channel data, the digital channel data including amplitude and phase information; a channel data buffer configured to store the digital channel data a signal processor configured to generate multidimensional echolocation data through transformation of at least the amplitude and phase information of the stored digital channel, wherein the multidimensional echolocation data is generated without using transmit, receive, or scan lines; an echolocation data array configured to store the generated multidimensional echolocation data, wherein the echolocation data array comprises a pre-selected coordinate system; and an image converter configured to generate an image for display on a display device, wherein the multidimensional echolocation data stored in the pre-selected coordinate system of the echolocation data array is mapped to a specific location on the display device.
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Specification