AUTOMATED DOPPLER VELOCIMETRY USING A LOW-COST TRANSDUCER

• US 20130274607A1
• Filed: 12/16/2011
• Published: 10/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Anand, Ajay, Petruzzello, John, Sisodia, Rajendra Singh, Gupta, Lalit, Vajinepalli, Pallavi, Firtion, Celine
• Granted Patent: US 9,351,708 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/454
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/489 Blood vessels
• 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 8/0891 for diagnosis of blood vessels
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4427 Device being portable or laptop-like
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4444 related to the probe
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/466 adapted to display 3D data 3D imaging and stereoscopic displays in devices for short-range imaging with acoustic waves G01S15/8993 and G01S7/52068, respectively; 3D image rendering G06T15/00; manipulating 3D models for computer graphics G06T19/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/467 characterised by special input means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/483 involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/488 involving Doppler signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5223 for extracting a diagnostic or physiological parameter from medical diagnostic data for algorithms to analyse biomedical images G06T7/0012
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/54 Control of the diagnostic device
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/585 Automatic set-up of the device

Abstract

An automatic, stand-alone, hand-held ultrasound blood-vessel examination device (100) requires a reduced number of transducer elements (126) and presents a simplified user interface (136-140), without the need for displaying an image of any of the vessels. The probe, in one embodiment, acquires and examines a volume of interest (106), searches for a target vessel, tests the vessel for normality of blood flow, and reports the diagnosis, all automatically and without need for user intervention. In another embodiment, the probe finds a body vessel (108-112) in a volume, and extracts a clinical Doppler parameter, all automatically and without need for user intervention.

Claims

1. An ultrasound device configured for carrying out a series of acts, said series comprising:

a) examining, using an ultrasound probe of the ultrasound device, a volume to find body vessels present within the volume; and

,

b) if one or more vessels are found within the volume in said examining, then b1) selecting, for fluid-flow analysis, a vessel from among said vessels found within the volume, b2) generating, for said fluid-flow analysis, information particular to the selected vessel, b3) determining, based on the generated information, whether said selected vessel matches a target vessel, and b4) if the selected vessel matches the target vessel, then b4) (i) providing, based on the generated information, an indication as to normality of fluid flow in the selected vessel, else b4) (ii) repeating the selecting, generating, and determining with a next vessel of the vessels found, until there is no further next vessel of the vessels found within the volume,

wherein said acts of examining and selecting (i) do not rely on a display of ultrasound scan images, and (ii) are performed automatically and without need for user intervention to interpret an ultrasound scan image.

3. The ultrasound device of claim 1, wherein the generated information comprises a quantitative characteristic of a waveform, wherein said waveform is representative of magnitude, over time, of velocity of fluid in said selected vessel.

7. The ultrasound device of claim 1, wherein said series further comprises:

designating, prior to said examining, the target vessel within a vessel category, said category being based on physiology.

8. The ultrasound device of claim 1, wherein examining of said series further comprises using ultrasound to acquire volumetric data to be examined.

9. The ultrasound device of claim 1, wherein said series further comprises:

using ultrasound to generate information particular to the selected vessel; and

providing, based on the generated information, an indication as to normality of fluid flow in said selected vessel.

10. The ultrasound device of claim 1, wherein the ultrasound device is implemented as a hand-held, stand-alone device.

11. The ultrasound device of claim 1, wherein the ultrasound device includes one or more integrated circuits.

2. (canceled)

4. The ultrasound device of claim 2, wherein said series further comprises performing said fluid-flow analysis of the generated information, and, subject to a result based on said fluid-flow analysis, providing, based on said generated information, an indication as to normality of fluid flow in said selected vessel.

5. The ultrasound device of claim 4, wherein said series further comprises steps a) and b);

and

c) at least until said providing is performed, repeating, with said selected vessel serving as a current vessel, step b) for each next vessel from among said vessels found.

6. The ultrasound device of claim 4, wherein said series further comprises classifying said selected vessel based on said generated information, said providing being subject to a result of said classifying.

12-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A computer readable medium for an ultrasound body-fluid-flow analysis device, said medium comprising instructions executable by a processor of the ultrasound body-fluid flow analysis device for carrying out a series of acts, said series comprising:

a) examining, using an ultrasound probe of the ultrasound body-fluid flow analysis device, a volume to find body vessels present within the volume; and

,

b) if one or more vessels are found within the volume in said examining, then b1) selecting, for fluid-flow analysis, a vessel from among said vessels found within the volume, b2) generating, for said fluid-flow analysis, information particular to the selected vessel, b3) determining, based on the generated information, whether said selected vessel matches a target vessel, and b4) if the selected vessel matches the target vessel, then b4) (i) providing, based on the generated information, an indication as to normality of fluid flow in the selected vessel, else b4) (ii) repeating the selecting, generating, and determining with a next vessel of the vessels found, until there is no further next vessel of the vessels found within the volume,

wherein said acts of examining and selecting (i) do not rely on a display of ultrasound scan images, and (ii) are performed automatically and without need for user intervention to interpret an ultrasound scan image.

22. A method for ultrasound body-fluid-flow analysis, said method comprising:

configuring an ultrasound device for performing, automatically and without need for user intervention to interpret an ultrasound scan image, a series of acts, said series comprising;

a) examining, using an ultrasound probe of the ultrasound device, a volume to find body vessels present within the volume; and

,

b) if one or more vessels are found within the volume in said examining, then b1) selecting, for fluid-flow analysis, a vessel from among said vessels found within the volume, b2) generating, for said fluid-flow analysis, information particular to the selected vessel, b3) determining, based on the generated information, whether said selected vessel matches a target vessel, and b4) if the selected vessel matches the target vessel, then b4) (i) providing, based on the generated information, an indication as to normality of fluid flow in the selected vessel, else b4) (ii) repeating the selecting, generating, and determining with a next vessel of the vessels found, until there is no further next vessel of the vessels found within the volume,

wherein said examining and selecting do not rely on a display of ultrasound scan images.

23-24. -24. (canceled)