ULTRASONIC DIAGNOSING APPARATUS

• US 20100274139A1
• Filed: 12/25/2008
• Published: 10/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Itoh, Yoshihiko, Fukukita, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,444,561 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/459
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/00 Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves imaging of objects using sonar G01S15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/56 Details of data transmission or power supply
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8906 Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/5202 for pulse systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52046 Techniques for image enhancement involving transmitter or receiver image enhancement by image data processing G06T5/00

Abstract

An ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus includes: a transducer array 1 composed of arrayed transducer elements T1 to T6 for transmitting ultrasound; driving circuits D1A to D6A each provided for transmission channels for driving each of the transducer elements; a transmission trigger generator 2 for generating a trigger pulse for controlling each of the driving circuits; a parallel reception beam former 3 for processing reception signals from the transducer elements; a signal processor 4 for processing an output signal of the parallel reception beam former; and a control unit 5 for controlling the transmission trigger generator, the parallel reception beam former and the signal processor. The transmission trigger generator controls the width of the trigger pulse independently for each of the transmission channels to cause the driving circuit to output a driving pulse approximating a predetermined weighting value assigned to an output amplitude of each of the transmission channels in a transmission aperture of the transducer array. A circuit for forming a trapezoidal transmission beam for increasing a data acquisition rate by using parallel reception beams can be configured at low cost by using pulse amplifiers.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus comprising;

a transducer array composed of a plurality of arrayed transducer elements for transmitting ultrasound;

a plurality of driving circuits each provided for transmission channels for driving each of the transducer elements;

a transmission trigger generator for generating a trigger pulse for controlling each of the driving circuits;

a parallel reception beam former for processing reception signals from the transducer elements;

a signal processor for processing an output signal of the parallel reception beam former; and

a control unit for controlling the transmission trigger generator, the parallel reception beam former and the signal processor,

wherein the transmission trigger generator controls a width of the trigger pulse independently for each of the transmission channels to cause the driving circuit to output a driving pulse approximating a predetermined weighting value assigned to an output amplitude of each of the transmission channels in a transmission aperture of the transducer array.

2. The ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in comparison to the trigger pulses inputted to the driving circuits for the transmission channels corresponding to a center portion and peripheral portions of the transmission aperture of the transducer array, the trigger pulses inputted to the driving circuits for the transmission channels corresponding to intermediate areas between the center portion and the peripheral portions have a narrower width.

3. The ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the weighting to the output amplitude of each of the transmission channels is controlled by controlling independently for each of the transmission channels the number of cycles of the trigger pulse inputted to the driving circuit.

4. The ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the weighting to the output amplitude of each of the transmission channels is controlled by controlling independently for each of the transmission channels a time phase of the trigger pulse inputted to the driving circuit to be inverted.

5. The ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of transducer elements of the transducer array are divided into three groups when being driven, and with respect to a time phase of the trigger pulses inputted to the driving circuits for a group at a center of the transmission aperture, a time phase of the trigger pulses inputted to the driving circuits for peripheral groups on both sides of the center group is inverted.

6. The ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving circuits are ternary output driving circuits, and the weighting value is approximated by controlling independently for each of the transmission channels at least one of the width, the number of cycles and the time phase of the trigger pulse.

7. The ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein with respect to a relative coordinate X measured from a center of the array of the transducer array as a starting point, the predetermined weighting value w(X) is assigned by the following formula:

w(X)=SIN C(2X)+C

where −

1≦

X≦

1 and 0.02≦

C≦

0.08.

8. The ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the weighting value w(X) is discretized by a quantization unit value q (where ⅛

≦

q≦

1).

9. The ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein when the discretized weighting value becomes 0 over a plurality of adjacent transmission channels, for some of the adjacent transmission channels where the weighting value becomes 0, the weighting value is changed by the quantization unit value as a minimum unit.

10. The ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein intervals between discritizations of the predetermined weighting value are set to be longer as an ultrasound transmission frequency becomes higher.

11. The ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a timing of the driving pulse is shifted by an amount of time corresponding to a ½

cycle when a polarity of the predetermined weighting value is positive with respect to a case where the polarity is negative.

12. The ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the driving circuits are binary output driving circuits.

13. The ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein time amount data corresponding to a ½

cycle is added to or subtracted from delay data for specifying the timing of the driving pulse in accordance with the polarity of the predetermined weighting value.

14. The ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein an output of each of the transmission channels is controlled in accordance with an absolute weighting value corresponding to an absolute value of the predetermined weighting value.

15. The ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein an absolute value of the predetermined weighting value is quantized, and for some of the transmission channels where the quantized absolute weighting value becomes 0, the absolute weighting value is changed by a minimum quantization unit.