Volumetric ultrasonic imaging with diverging elevational ultrasound beams
First Claim
1. In an ultrasonic imaging system, including transducer means having an ultrasonic energy emitting surface for scanning a region in front of said emitting surface in an azimuthal direction by mechanically sweeping beams emitted from said transducer means over said region, and means for producing an image from echoes received by said transducer means, said transducer means further comprising means for focusing the ultrasonic energy emitted by said transducer means in the azimuthal direction at a focal range in front of said emitting surface and means for diverging said ultrasonic energy in the elevation direction within said azimuthal focal range.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An ultrasonic transducer is provided for producing two-dimensional projection images of the interior of the body. The transducer may comprise an array of elements, acuated to produce scanning beams which are focused in the azimuthal direction and divergent in the elevation direction. The elements will, when actuated, emit fan-shaped beams which will insonify a volumetric region in front of the transducer. Echoes returning from structures within the volumetric region are acoustically integrated and projected onto a plane within the region. An image display of this plane will represent a two-dimensional projection of the volumetric region.
218 Citations
10 Claims
- 1. In an ultrasonic imaging system, including transducer means having an ultrasonic energy emitting surface for scanning a region in front of said emitting surface in an azimuthal direction by mechanically sweeping beams emitted from said transducer means over said region, and means for producing an image from echoes received by said transducer means, said transducer means further comprising means for focusing the ultrasonic energy emitted by said transducer means in the azimuthal direction at a focal range in front of said emitting surface and means for diverging said ultrasonic energy in the elevation direction within said azimuthal focal range.
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10. In an ultrasonic imaging system, including transducer means having an ultrasonic energy emitting surface for scanning a region in front of said emitting surface in an azimuthal direction, and means for producing an image from echoes received by said transducer means, said transducer means further comprising a two dimensional array of elements oriented in the azimuthal direction and in the elevation direction, means for focusing the ultrasonic energy emitted by said transducer means in the azimuthal direction and means for diverging said ultrasonic energy in the elevation direction, wherein said means for focusing and said means for diverging control the timing of actuation of respective elements of said array.
Specification