Ultrasonic position indicating apparatus and methods
First Claim
1. An apparatus for responding to a first transducer within an area of a body, said first transducer of the type which responds to ultrasonic energy impinging on a surface thereof emitted by a second transducer, comprising:
- an ultrasound imagining system for imaging an area of the body to cause said first transducer to provide return signals each time ultrasonic energy from said second transducer impinges thereon, said system including first means for providing a display of said area by converting imaging information into a given number of scan lines to cover said area with said given number of scan lines indicative of a frame,second means response to said return signals during said frame to analyze the amplitudes of said return signals on a frame to frame basis, said second means providing a control signal in each frame for controlling the analysis by said second means of the next succeeding frame.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An ultrasonic imaging system employs a processing circuit which enables the imaging system to accurately display the location of an element in a body by utilizing a transducer which provides an electric signal when an ultrasonic wave impinges thereon. The electric signal is processed to determine the maximum amplitude signals during an entire frame of the ultrasonic imaging system. The signals are characterized in terms of the line at which the signal appears or the ray at which the signal appears and the pixel or location along that line. This information regarding ray and pixel serves as X-Y coordinates enabling one to accurately locate the element and transducer on the displayed image by intensifying the display at that location or by adding color or by producing some other visual effect such as blinking, and so on. Thus the disclosed apparatus in its various forms provides ultrasonic position indication without adjustment whereby one shows the exact location of the localizing transducer.
425 Citations
30 Claims
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1. An apparatus for responding to a first transducer within an area of a body, said first transducer of the type which responds to ultrasonic energy impinging on a surface thereof emitted by a second transducer, comprising:
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an ultrasound imagining system for imaging an area of the body to cause said first transducer to provide return signals each time ultrasonic energy from said second transducer impinges thereon, said system including first means for providing a display of said area by converting imaging information into a given number of scan lines to cover said area with said given number of scan lines indicative of a frame, second means response to said return signals during said frame to analyze the amplitudes of said return signals on a frame to frame basis, said second means providing a control signal in each frame for controlling the analysis by said second means of the next succeeding frame. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An apparatus for locating the position of a first transducer within an area of a body, said first transducer of the type which responds to ultrasonic energy impinging on a surface thereof emitted by a second transducer, comprising:
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an ultrasound imaging system for imaging the area of the body to cause said first transducer to provide return signals each time ultrasonic energy from said second transducer impinges thereon, said imaging system including means for providing a display of said area of said body by providing a given number of scan lines to cover said area with said given number of scan lines comprising a frame, and means responsive to said return signals to analyze said return signals corresponding to each scan line within said frame to determine which ones of said return signals are of the highest amplitude and are indicative of the location of said first transducer and to provide coordinate locations for said first transducer location. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of locating the position of a first transducer present in a body, said first transducer of the type emitting a signal when ultrasonic energy from a second transducer impinges thereon, comprising the steps of:
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detecting said signal emitted during a frame, and defining the location of said signal in terms of a line contained within said frame and a position on said line to thereby define the location of said first transducer during said frame. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. Apparatus for locating the position of an object within a body, comprising:
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first transducer means located on said object and capable of emitting a signal when ultrasonic signals emitted from a second transducer means impinges thereon, an ultrasound imaging system for providing an imaged area of said body, said imaging system including means for scanning said image area nd to present a scanned area in terms of a plurality of scan lines with said plurality of scan lines indicative of a frame, means coupled to said first transducer means for measuring a predetermined signal characteristic from the signals emitted by said second transducer means during a frame, and means responsive to signals emitted by said first transducer to provide an X and Y coordinate for a maximum measured value of said signal characteristic within said scanned area of each frame. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. In an ultrasound imaging system operative to image an area of a patient'"'"'s body with ultrasonic pulses, said imaging system including scan controller means for providing a given number of lines during a frame, with each line indicative of the information received by said system during an associated pulse, the combination therewith of apparatus for locating the position of an object within said area of said patient'"'"'s body comprising:
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transducer means located on said object and operative to produce and emitted signal when ultrasonic energy impinges thereon, first means coupled to said transducer means and responsive to said emitted signal to provide an output signal according to said emitted signal, second means for comparing said output signal with other emitted signals to detect larger amplitude emitted signals during a line, and third means responsive to said detection of said larger amplitude emitted signals during each line for providing an X and Y coordinate indicative of said larger amplitude emitted signals for each line in a frame, fourth means responsive to said larger amplitude emitted signals and said X and Y coordinate to store said larger amplitude emitted signals during said frame, and means responsive to the stored signals for selecting those signals indicative of the location of said transducer during said frame. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. Apparatus for responding to a transducer located within an area of interest, said transducer of the type which responds to ultrasonic energy impinging thereon by producing return signals, comprising:
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an ultrasonic imaging system of the type for imaging said area by providing a series of ultrasonic rays transmitted to said area for responding to reflected signals from said area, said system including display means for providing a display of said area with at least each one of said rays indicative of one scan line of said display with a given number of scan lines constituting a frame, whereby said transducer returns said return signals from said rays which impinge thereon at said transducer location within said area, means responsive to said return signals for providing the maximum value of the returned signals during each ray for each frame and for storing the maximum values achieved for each ray, means responsive to said stored signals for deriving an average value of said return signals stored for each frame, and means responsive to said average value for providing the coordinate locations of said return signals stored during a frame. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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Specification