System of therapeutic ultrasound and real-time ultrasonic scanning
First Claim
1. A system for obtaining 3-dimensional ultrasonic images of an object under study comprising:
- an ultrasonic transducer assembly, said transducer assembly producing ultrasonic pulses directed toward said object and producing 2-dimensional data from a radio frequency output in response to ultrasonic echo pulses received,means to generate 2-dimensional data in sequential scan planes separated from each other by an angular increment,means to determine the angular increment between said sequential scan planes and produce output position signals and,signal processing means receiving said 2-dimensional data from said ultrasonic transducer assembly and the output position signals from said means to determine the angular increment and generating 3-dimensional cross-sectional data of said object,wherein said means to generate sequential scan planes comprises a handle coupled to said transducer assembly, said handle manually movable to rotate said ultrasonic transducer assembly about an axis perpendicular to said scan plane.
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Abstract
A system is described for obtaining in real-time cross-sectional and 3-dimensional images of a body under study using ultrasonic energy. A piezoelectric transducer is positioned to emit ultrasonic energy and receive echo pulses. The transducer is electronically swept or physically rotated to produce a series of sectored scan planes which are separated by a known angular distance. The echo pulses are processed to produce an ultrasonic image in pseudo 3-dimensional display. By using data from one scan plane, processed as a B-scan image, cross-sectional data can be obtained. Such is combined in a display with an overlay to visually portray the object and positioning information or comparative data. The system is combined with a computer for data analysis and a therapeutic transducer for treatment.
291 Citations
44 Claims
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1. A system for obtaining 3-dimensional ultrasonic images of an object under study comprising:
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an ultrasonic transducer assembly, said transducer assembly producing ultrasonic pulses directed toward said object and producing 2-dimensional data from a radio frequency output in response to ultrasonic echo pulses received, means to generate 2-dimensional data in sequential scan planes separated from each other by an angular increment, means to determine the angular increment between said sequential scan planes and produce output position signals and, signal processing means receiving said 2-dimensional data from said ultrasonic transducer assembly and the output position signals from said means to determine the angular increment and generating 3-dimensional cross-sectional data of said object, wherein said means to generate sequential scan planes comprises a handle coupled to said transducer assembly, said handle manually movable to rotate said ultrasonic transducer assembly about an axis perpendicular to said scan plane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for obtaining 3-dimensional ultrasonic images of an object under study comprising:
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an ultrasonic transducer assembly, said transducer assembly producing ultrasonic pulses directed toward said object and producing 2-dimensional data from a radio frequency output in response to ultrasonic echo pulses received, means to generate 2-dimensional data in sequential scan planes separated from each other by an angular increment, position encoding potentiometer means to determine the angular increment between said sequential scan planes and produce output position signals and, signal processing means receiving said 2-dimensional data from said ultrasonic transducer assembly and the output position signals from said means to determine the angular increment and generating 3-dimensional cross-sectional data of said object. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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22. A system for obtaining 3-dimensional ultrasonic images of an object under study comprising:
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an ultrasonic transducer assembly, said transducer assembly producing ultrasonic pulses directed toward said object and producing 2-dimensional data from a radio frequency output in response to ultrasonic echo pulses received, means to generate 2-dimensional data in sequential scan planes separated from each other by an angular increment, means to determine the angular increment between said sequential scan planes and produce output position signals, signal processing means receiving said 2-dimensional data from said ultrasonic transducer assembly and the output position signal from said means to determine the angular increment and generating 3-dimensional cross-sectional data of said object, a plurality of therapeutic transducers positioned at spaced locations, and means to move any one of said plurality of therapeutic transducers to a new position while another of said plurality of therapeutic transducers is excited to produce a therapeutic beam. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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23. A system for obtaining 3-dimensional ultrasonic images of an object under study comprising:
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a piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer assembly, said transducer assembly producing ultrasonic pulses directed toward said object and producing 2-dimensional data from a radio frequency output in response to ultrasonic echo pulses received, means to generate 2-dimensional data in sequential scan planes separated from each other by an angular increment, means to determine the angular increment between said sequential scan planes and produce output position signals, signal processing means receiving said 2-dimensional data from said ultrasonic transducer assembly and the output position signals from said means to determine the angular increment and generating 3-dimensional cross-sectional data of said object, a real-time B-scan module to excite said piezoelectric transducer and to process said radio frequency output signals, a beam display module to produce a B-scan output, and display means receiving said B-scan output from one of said scan planes in real-time, said display means having an overlay representing positioning data. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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24. A system for obtaining 3-dimensional ultrasonic images of an object under study comprising:
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a rotatable ultrasonic transducer assembly, said transducer assembly producing ultrasonic pulses directed toward said object and producing 2-dimensional data from a radio frequency output in response to ultrasonic echo pulses received, means to generate 2-dimensional data in sequential scan planes separated from each other by an angular increment, optical encoder means mounted to said transducer assembly to determine the angular increment between said sequential scan planes and produce output position signals by sensing rotation of said assembly and, signal processing means receiving said 2-dimensional data from said ultrasonic transducer assembly and the output position signals from said means to determine the angular increment and generating 3-dimensional cross-sectional data of said object. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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Specification