Body imaging using vectorial addition of acoustic reflection to achieve effect of scanning beam continuously focused in range
First Claim
1. An ultrasonic imaging system comprising:
- an array of electro-acoustic transducers for transmitting acoustic energy upon a body to be displayed and for receiving reflections from said body to develop output signals representative of said reflections and which contain complex information corresponding to the amplitudes and phases of said reflections;
an image display for presenting an image, composed of a plurality of varying intensity pixels, of said body;
means for selectively energizing said transducers to develop a series of acoustic energy transmissions from said array and to develop output signals from said transducers from reflections of said transmissions;
means for processing said output signals, after selected acoustic energy transmissions, to develop from the preceding acoustic energy transmissions a plurality of complex image signals individually representative of the sum of the amplitude and phase information associated with individual pixels and collectively representative of a complex image for the preceding acoustic energy transmissions,means for combining complex image signals associated with the same pixel of each complex image to develop a plurality of image display signals representative of the combined amplitude and phase information of each pixel for all preceding acoustic energy transmissions; and
means for supplying said image display signals to said image display, thereby presenting an image of said body.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An array of acoustic transmit/receive transducers is placed near the body to be imaged. Acoustic energy is projected upon the body sequentially from different ones of the transducers, each projection covering the entire scene or field of view which it is desired to image. The electrical signals produced from reflected acoustic energy picked up by different transducers are phase shifted, or time delayed as appropriate, so that those from any particular point within the body will additively combine in amplitude, while signals from other points will not. In so doing, there is preserved not only the information about the amplitude of the combined signal from the transducers, but also any information about phase shifts (or time delays as the case may be) which does not result in complete alignment of the signals from the different transducers. The resulting complex signals are further processed, to vectorially add them. The signals produced by this further vectorial addition are then used for the visual display of the image. The resulting image is as if the energy projected upon the body had been formed into a scanning beam which is continuously focused in range at all points in the field of view.
106 Citations
16 Claims
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1. An ultrasonic imaging system comprising:
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an array of electro-acoustic transducers for transmitting acoustic energy upon a body to be displayed and for receiving reflections from said body to develop output signals representative of said reflections and which contain complex information corresponding to the amplitudes and phases of said reflections; an image display for presenting an image, composed of a plurality of varying intensity pixels, of said body; means for selectively energizing said transducers to develop a series of acoustic energy transmissions from said array and to develop output signals from said transducers from reflections of said transmissions; means for processing said output signals, after selected acoustic energy transmissions, to develop from the preceding acoustic energy transmissions a plurality of complex image signals individually representative of the sum of the amplitude and phase information associated with individual pixels and collectively representative of a complex image for the preceding acoustic energy transmissions, means for combining complex image signals associated with the same pixel of each complex image to develop a plurality of image display signals representative of the combined amplitude and phase information of each pixel for all preceding acoustic energy transmissions; and means for supplying said image display signals to said image display, thereby presenting an image of said body. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of forming an image, composed of a plurality of varying intensity pixels, of a body comprising the steps of:
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(a) projecting acoustic energy upon a body to be displayed; (b) receiving reflections of said acoustic energy from said body; (c) developing output signals representative of said reflections which contain information corresponding to the amplitude and phase of said reflections; (d) repeating steps (a), (b), and (c) a prescribed number of times corresponding to a prescribed number of acoustic energy projections, with each projection insonifying said body differently; (e) processing said output signals after a selected number of acoustic energy projections and developing a plurality of complex image signals individually representative of the sum of the amplitude and phase information associated with individual pixels and collectively representative of a complex image for the preceding acoustic energy projections; (f) combining after said selected number of acoustic energy projections complex image signals associated with the same pixel and developing a plurality of image display signals representative of the combined amplitude and phase information of each pixel; and (g) supplying, after the final acoustic energy projection of the prescribed number, said image display signals to an image display. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification