MULTI-CLIENT ULTRASOUND IMAGING SYSTEM

• US 20150369915A1
• Filed: 02/14/2013
• Published: 12/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2013
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: B-K Medicals Aps
• Original Assignee: B-K Medicals Aps
• Inventors: Eibye, Michael Knud, Manigoff, Jesper Lomborg
• Granted Patent: US 10,571,566 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8906 Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/003 Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52082 involving a modular construction, e.g. a computer with short range imaging equipment modular ultrasonic medical diagnostic devices A61B8/4411
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/5021 Priority
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5027 the resource being a machine, e.g. CPUs, Servers, Terminals

Abstract

An ultrasound imaging scanner includes an ultrasound input device (104), of a plurality of ultrasound input devices, that includes an array of transducer elements, which transmits an ultrasound signal and receives an echo signal produced in response thereto; and a multi-client ultrasound imaging data processing system (106) that includes processing resources which are shared by the plurality of ultrasound input devices, wherein the processing resources include a plurality of ultrasound signal processing units, each including a plurality of ultrasound signal processing blocks configured to processes echo signals, and wherein the multi-client ultrasound imaging data system temporarily allocates at least one ultrasound signal processing block to process the received echo signal of the ultrasound input device, generating an image indicative thereof.

Claims

1. An ultrasound imaging scanner, comprising:

an ultrasound input device, of a plurality of ultrasound input devices, that includes an array of transducer elements, which transmits an ultrasound signal and receives ultrasound data produced in response thereto; and

a multi-client ultrasound imaging data processing system that includes processing resources which are shared by the plurality of ultrasound input devices, wherein the processing resources include a plurality of ultrasound signal processing units, each including a plurality of ultrasound signal processing blocks configured to processes ultrasound data, and

wherein the multi-client ultrasound imaging data system temporarily allocates at least one ultrasound signal processing block to process the received ultrasound data of the ultrasound input device, generating an image indicative thereof.

2. The ultrasound imaging scanner of claim 1, wherein the at least one processing block includes two or more processing blocks of a same one of the plurality of processing units.

3. The ultrasound imaging scanner of claim 1, wherein the at least one processing block includes two or more processing blocks of different processing units of the plurality of processing units.

4. The ultrasound imaging scanner of claim 2, wherein the two or more processing blocks perform different processing functions.

5. The ultrasound imaging scanner of claim 3, the multi-client ultrasound imaging data processing system, further comprising:

a processing resources manager that allocates the plurality of processing blocks to the ultrasound input devices, including allocating the at least one processing block to the ultrasound input device.

6. The ultrasound imaging scanner of claim 5, wherein the processing resources manager allocates the at least one processing block to the ultrasound input device based on a predetermined allocation.

7. The ultrasound imaging scanner of claim 5, wherein the processing resources manager dynamically allocates the at least one processing block to the ultrasound input device in response to receiving the ultrasound data based on available and required processing.

8. The ultrasound imaging scanner of claim 7, wherein the processing resources manager allocates the at least one processing block between multiple ultrasound input devices competing for the at least one processing block based on a predetermined priority.

9. The ultrasound imaging scanner of claim 5, wherein the processing resources manager de-allocates the allocated at least one processing block for allocation to another ultrasound input device in response to the ultrasound input device no longer needing the allocated at least one processing block.

10. The ultrasound imaging scanner of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one ultrasound user interface that at least visually presents the image, wherein the at least one ultrasound user interface is temporarily paired with the ultrasound input device for presenting the image and unavailable to be paired with another ultrasound input device.

11. The ultrasound imaging scanner of claim 10, wherein the ultrasound data is processed through multiple different chains of processing blocks, producing multiple different images from the same ultrasound data.

12. The ultrasound imaging scanner of claim 11, further comprising:

at least a second ultrasound user interface temporarily paired with the ultrasound input device, wherein the at least one ultrasound user interface visually presents a first of the images and the at least a second ultrasound user interface visually presents a second of the images.

13. The ultrasound imaging scanner of claim 12, wherein the at least one ultrasound user interface and the at least a second ultrasound user interface are located in two different viewing rooms.

14. The ultrasound imaging scanner of claim 10, wherein the at least one ultrasound user interface is unpaired with the ultrasound input device and available for pairing with another ultrasound user interface.

15. A method, comprising:

pairing an ultrasound input device of a plurality of ultrasound input devices with at least one ultrasound user interface of a plurality of ultrasound user interfaces;

registering the paired ultrasound input device and the least one ultrasound user interface with a multi-client ultrasound imaging data processing system;

acquiring ultrasounds data with the ultrasound input device;

allocating processing resources of the multi-client ultrasound imaging data processing system to process the acquired ultrasounds data and generate at least one image indicative thereof,

wherein the processing resource are shared by the plurality of ultrasound input devices and include a plurality of ultrasound signal processing units, each including a plurality of ultrasound signal processing blocks configured to processes ultrasound data, and

wherein allocating processing resources includes temporarily allocating at least one ultrasound processing block to process the received ultrasound data of the ultrasound input device; and

visually displaying the at least one image.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the at least one processing block includes two or more processing blocks of a same one of the plurality of processing units, and comprising:

processing the ultrasound data sequentially with the two or more processing blocks.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the at least one processing block includes two or more processing blocks of different processing units of the plurality of processing units, and comprising:

processing the ultrasound data sequentially with the two or more processing blocks.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the two or more processing blocks perform different processing functions.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

allocating the at least one processing block to the ultrasound input device based on a predetermined allocation.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

dynamically allocating the at least one processing block to the ultrasound input device in response to receiving the ultrasound databased on available and required processing.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the at least one processing block is allocated to multiple ultrasound input devices competing for the at least one processing block based on a priority.

22. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

releasing the allocated at least one processing block for allocation to another ultrasound input device.

23. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

unpairing the at least one ultrasound user interface and the ultrasound input device.

24. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

processing the ultrasound data with multiple different chains of processing blocks, producing multiple different images from the same ultrasound data.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

visually presenting a first image of the multiple different images via a first ultrasound user interface and visually presenting a second image of the multiple different images via a second ultrasound user interface.

26. A virtual ultrasound imaging scanner, comprising:

an ultrasound input device;

at least one ultrasound processing resource from a cloud based multi-client ultrasound imaging data processing system, which is shared by a plurality of ultrasound input device, including the ultrasound input device; and

at least one ultrasound user interface,

wherein the ultrasound input device and the at least one ultrasound user interface are temporarily paired and the at least one ultrasound processing resource is temporarily allocated to process ultrasound data acquired by the ultrasound input device, generates one or more images indicative thereof, and visually present the one or more images via the at least one ultrasound user interface.