SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ULTRASOUND BEAM FORMING DATA CONTROL

• US 20120195161A1
• Filed: 11/29/2011
• Published: 08/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FUJIFILM SonoSite, Inc. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sonosite Incorporated (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Little, Blake W., Duffy, Thomas M., Coughlin, Justin
• Granted Patent: US 9,151,832 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 367/7
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8929 using a three-dimensional transducer configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52034 Data rate converters
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/34 using electrical steering of transducer arrays, e.g. beam steering constructional aspects B06B1/0607, B06B1/085
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/341 Circuits therefor

Abstract

Disclosed are systems and methods which efficiently control storage of and/or access to data which includes repetitive data or data which is used by different modes, processes, etcetera. Embodiments provide control for storage of and/or access to large amounts of data used in ultrasound system beam forming for image generation using a hierarchy of sequencers for controlling storage of and/or access to data. A frame sequencer may provide control at a frame level while an address sequencer is implemented to provide control at a data access level.

Claims

1. An ultrasound imaging system comprising:

a multi-dimensional array storing information used in beam forming with respect to ultrasound signals; and

a hierarchy of sequencers controlling access to said information stored in said multi-dimensional array during processing of said ultrasound signals.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein a dimension of said multi-dimensional array is associated with at least one of an image mode, an image zone, and an image line.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said information stored in said multi-dimensional array comprises beam forming parameters.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said information stored in said multi-dimensional array comprises information other than beam forming parameters which is used in said processing said signals.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said information stored in said multi-dimensional array comprises pointer information identifying where information which is used in said processing said signals is stored.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said hierarchy of sequencers comprises:

a frame sequencer providing control with respect to accessing information for completing a frame; and

an address sequencer providing control with respect accessing particular information under control of said frame sequencer.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said frame sequencer provides control on a line-by-line basis.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein said frame sequencer is initialized for use in different imaging modes by providing parameters thereto.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein said address sequencer determines an address of information for a current line using at least one parameter provided thereto from said frame sequencer.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said address is determined as an offset from a base address in at least one dimension of said multi-dimensional array.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein said hierarchy of sequencers are implemented in one or more application specific circuit.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein said ultrasound imaging system comprises a portable diagnostic ultrasound instrument.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein said multi-dimensional array comprises at least a three dimensional array.

14. A method for accessing information used in ultrasound imaging system beam forming, said method comprising:

storing said information used in beam forming in a multi-dimensional array; and

determining an address for desired information stored in said multi-dimensional array on a line-by-line basis, said determining using information with respect to a current frame and information with respect to a current line of said current frame to determine said address as an offset from a base address.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein a dimension of said multi-dimensional array is associated with at least one of an image mode, an image zone, and an image line.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein said information stored in said multi-dimensional array comprises beam forming parameters.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein said information stored in said multi-dimensional array comprises information other than beam forming parameters which is used with respect to beam forming signals.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein said information stored in said multi-dimensional array comprises pointer information identifying where desired information is stored.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein said storing said information comprises storing parameters for forming a particular beam a single time in said multi-dimensional array although said particular beam is used in multiple different image modes.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

providing a hierarchy of sequencers for controlling access to said information stored in said multi-dimensional array, at least one sequencer of said hierarchy of sequencers operable to provide said determining an address.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein at least another one of said sequencers of said hierarchy of sequencers provides control of said at least one sequencer.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

providing different frame parameters to said at least another one of said sequencers to cause said at least one sequencer to determine addresses for a different operational mode.

23. The method of claim 14, wherein said multi-dimensional array comprises at least a three dimensional array.

24. A system comprising:

a memory storing a plurality of information blocks; and

memory control logic providing computation of an address for a particular information block of said plurality of information blocks currently desired in a series of calls to said memory for accessing information blocks of said plurality of information blocks, said computation of said address being based at least in part upon a plurality of parameters having information with respect to a particular task information of accessed ones of said information blocks is being used for.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein said memory stores said plurality of information blocks in a multi-dimensional array.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein a dimension of said multi-dimensional array is associated with at least one of an image mode, an image zone, and an image line.

27. The system of claim 24, wherein information of said plurality of information blocks comprises beam forming parameters.

28. The system of claim 24, wherein information of said plurality of information blocks comprises pointer information.

29. The system of claim 24, wherein said memory control logic further provides incrementing of at least one parameter used in said computation of said address.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein said incrementing is provided by a frame sequencer of said memory control logic and said address computation is provided by an address sequencer of said memory control logic.

31. The system of claim 24, wherein said system comprises an ultrasound imaging system.

32. The system of claim 24, wherein said particular task comprises providing beam forming with respect to an ultrasound signal.

33. The system of claim 24, wherein said particular task comprises drawing an image.

34. The system of claim 24, wherein said particular task comprises saving an image.