ULTRASOUND SYSTEM WITH AUTOMATED DOPPLER FLOW SETTINGS

• US 20140221838A1
• Filed: 09/14/2012
• Published: 08/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Loupas, Thanasis, Saad, Ashraf
• Granted Patent: US 10,342,515 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 8/488 involving Doppler signals
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8915 using a transducer array
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8984 Measuring the velocity vector
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8988 Colour Doppler imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52071 Multicolour displays; using colour coding; Optimising colour or information content in displays, e.g. parametric imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52073 Production of cursor lines, markers or indicia by electronic means

Abstract

An ultrasound system performs duplex colorflow and spectral Doppler imaging, with the spectral Doppler interrogation performed at a sample volume location shown on the colorflow image. The colorflow image is displayed in a color box overlaid on a co-registered B mode image. A color box position and steering angle processor analyzes the spatial Doppler data and automatically sets the color box angle and location over a blood vessel for optimal Doppler sensitivity and accuracy. The processor may also automatically set the flow angle correction cursor in alignment with the direction of flow. In a preferred embodiment these optimization adjustments are made automatically and continuously as a user pauses at points for Doppler measurements along a length of the blood vessel.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system which produces spectral Doppler displays of flow for anatomical locations selected from a colorflow image, the system comprising:

an ultrasonic transducer array probe which transmits beams and receives echo signals from a region of a subject where flow is present;

a beamformer which controls the directions in which beams are transmitted by the probe;

a Doppler processor responsive to the echo signals to produce Doppler signals;

a Doppler image processor, responsive to the Doppler signals to produce Doppler images;

a display on which Doppler images are displayed; and

a color box position and steering angle processor, responsive to the Doppler signals to automatically determine a position of a color box over the Doppler images and orient a steering angle of the color box.

2. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 1, wherein the color box position and steering angle processor automatically determines the position of the color box by determining the steering angle of the color box.

3. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 2, wherein the color box position and steering angle processor is further operable to automatically determine the angle of a Doppler steering angle line to be consistent with the determined steering angle of the color box.

4. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 3, wherein the color box position and steering angle processor is coupled to the beamformer to control the angle of Doppler beam transmission to be consistent with the determined Doppler steering angle line.

5. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 1, wherein the color box position and steering angle processor automatically determines the color box position by determining the position of the color box relative to a location of a blood vessel in an ultrasound image.

6. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 1, wherein the color box position and steering angle processor automatically determines the color box position by determining the position of the color box relative to the location of a Doppler sample volume in an ultrasound image.

7. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 1, wherein the color box position and steering angle processor is further operable to automatically set the orientation of a flow direction cursor,

wherein the steering angle of the color box is set in consideration of the orientation of the flow direction cursor.

8. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 1, further comprising a graphics processor responsive to the color box position and steering angle processor for graphically delineating the location of the color box on an ultrasound image.

9. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 8, wherein the graphics processor is further operable to graphically delineate the locations of a Doppler sample volume graphic and a Doppler steering angle line on an ultrasound image.

10. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 1, further comprising a B mode processor responsive to the echo signals to produce a B mode image,

wherein the Doppler image processor produces a colorflow Doppler image, and

wherein the colorflow Doppler image is displayed in spatial registration with the B mode image in the color box.

11. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 10, wherein the Doppler image processor further produces a spectral Doppler image which is displayed concurrently with the colorflow Doppler image displayed in spatial registration with the B mode image in the color box.

12. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 1, wherein the color box position and steering angle processor is further responsive to Doppler signals from a blood vessel for determining a center of mass of a flow of the blood vessel.

13. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 12, wherein the color box position and steering angle processor is further operable to locate the position of the color box to be centered about the determined center of mass of the flow of the blood vessel.

14. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 1, wherein the color box position and steering angle processor is further operable to determine the steering angle of the color box in consideration of the local or average or median flow direction in a blood vessel.

15. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of claim 1, wherein the color box position and steering angle processor is further operable to determine a center line of a flow in a blood vessel in the Doppler images.