Method and apparatus for adjustable frequency scanning in ultrasound imaging

• US 5,549,111 A
• Filed: 05/02/1995
• Issued: 08/27/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Acuson Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Larsen, Hugh G., Gee, Albert, Cole, Christopher R., Wright, J. Nelson, Maslak, Samuel H.
• Primary Examiner(s): MANUEL, GEORGE C
• Application Number:
  US08/432,868
• Time in Patent Office: 483 Days
• Field of Search: 128/660.07, 128/660.08, 128/660.09, 128/661.01, 73/612, 73/628, 73/642, 73/609, 348/607, 348/608, 348/609, 348/610, 348/611
• US Class Current: 600/443
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/89 for mapping or imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8918 the array being linear
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/895 characterised by the transmitted frequency spectrum
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8979 Combined Doppler and pulse-echo imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52047 for elimination of side lobes or of grating lobes; for increasing resolving power
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/5206 Two-dimensional coordinated display of distance and direction; B-scan display
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52071 Multicolour displays; using colour coding; Optimising colour or information content in displays, e.g. parametric imaging

Abstract

Method for scanning a field of view using a scan format, wherein the carrier frequency of the imaging pulse is higher in the center of the field of view than at the edges. The frequency variation can be accomplished on transmit by modulating appropriately delayed programmable initial waveform information samples with a programmable carrier frequency. This results in a pulse transmitted into the body whose frequency is highest in the center portion of the scan, and is reduced in a controlled fashion as the steering angle is increased in order to mitigate grating lobe artifacts. The technique preserves signal energy because modulation merely translates the signal in frequency substantially without modification of the pulse shape itself. The technique is also useful on receive, wherein demodulation to or near baseband followed by post-beamformation pre-detection remodulation can correct for systematic scan-line-to-scan-line phase variations to ensure scan-line-to-scan-line phase coherency for subsequent coherent processing across scan lines or for coherent image formation using the phase and amplitude information from multiple beams.

Claims

1. A method for scanning a field of view with a plurality of ultrasonic transmit beams, at least a first and a second of which traverse different paths through said field of view, comprising the steps of:

modulating baseband waveforms for at least said first and said second of said transmit beams to ultrasonic frequencies, wherein an ultrasonic frequency to which said first transmit beam is modulated is higher than an ultrasonic frequency to which said second transmit beam is modulated; and

for at least said first and second of said transmit beams, exciting each respective transducer in an array of ultrasonic transducers with a respective excitation signal which is responsive to a respective one of said modulated baseband waveforms to produce the transmit beam.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said field of view has a central region and an outer region extending laterally from said central region in said field of view,

and wherein said first beam traverses said central region and said second beam traverses said outer region.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the frequencies for all of the beams in said plurality of ultrasonic beams which traverse said central region are equal to the frequency for said first beam, and wherein the frequencies for all of the beams in said plurality of ultrasonic beams which traverse one of said outer regions are equal to the frequency of said second beam.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein said field of view has two laterally opposite edges, a central region, and a pair of outer regions each extending laterally from said central region to a respective one of said edges of said field of view,

and wherein said first beam traverses said central region and said second beam traverses one of said outer regions.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the frequencies for all of the beams in said plurality of ultrasonic beams which traverse said central region are equal to the frequency for said first beam, and wherein the frequencies for all of the beams in said plurality of ultrasonic beams which traverse one of said outer regions are equal to the frequency of said second beam.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein each of said beams in said plurality of ultrasonic beams has a different apparent steering angle relative to a normal to a surface of said array.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the frequencies for the beams in said plurality of ultrasonic beams step down in more than two frequency steps from a beam with the smallest absolute apparent steering angle to a beam with the largest absolute apparent steering angle, inclusive.

8. A method according to claim 6, wherein the frequencies for the beams in said plurality of ultrasonic beams step down in at least one frequency step from a beam with the smallest absolute apparent steering angle to a beam with the largest absolute steering angle, inclusive.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the maximum steering angle θ

_S,max any of the beams in said plurality which are in each of said frequency steps, is related to the frequency f for the beams in such frequency step according to the relationship

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">sin (θ

.sub.S,max)≦

{κ

/(2·

f.sub.#)}{-b+{b.sup.2 -b+(λ

/d·

f.sub.#).sup.2 }.sup.1/2 }

where

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">λ

=c/f;

c is a constant approximating the speed of sound in the human body;

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">b=(1-{λ

/(2d)}.sup.2);

f_# is the f-number defined by the focal length r divided by the active aperture width D;

d is the transducer element spacing in said array; and

κ

is a desired value which is constant over all of said frequency steps, 0<

κ

<

1.

10. A method according to claim 8, wherein the frequency f_i for the i'"'"'th one of the beams in said plurality of beams is approximately:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">f.sub.i =(c/d) {sin (|θ

.sub.S,i |)+k(θ

.sub.S,max)}.sup.-1,

where

c is a constant which approximates the speed of sound in the human body;

d is the transducer element spacing in said array;

θ

_S,i is the steering angle for said i'"'"'th beam; and

k(θ

_S,max) is a constant which depends upon the maximum steering angle θ

_S,max.

11. A method according to claim 6, wherein the frequency f_i for the i'"'"'th one of the beams in said plurality of beams is approximately:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">f.sub.i =(c/d) {sin (|θ

.sub.S,i |)+k(θ

.sub.S,max)}.sup.-1,

where

c is a constant which approximates the speed of sound in the human body;

d is the transducer element spacing in said array;

θ

_S,i the steering angle for said i'"'"'th beam; and

k(θ

_S,max) is a constant which depends upon the maximum steering angle θ

_S,max.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein θ

_S,max ≈

45°

.

13. A method according to claim 11, wherein k(θ

_S,max)≈

1.29.

14. A method according to claim 1, wherein each of said beams in said plurality of ultrasonic transmit beams has a different apparent point of intersection with a surface of said array.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein each of said beams in said plurality of ultrasonic transmit beams also has a different apparent steering angle relative to a normal to said surface of said array.

16. A method according to claim 14, wherein the frequency for the beams in said plurality of ultrasonic transmit beams step down in more than two steps from a beam whose point of intersection is nearest the center of said surface of said array.

17. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of repeating the steps of modulating and exciting, to produce a plurality of scans of said field of view separated in time, the ultrasonic frequency for each respective beam in said plurality of beams being the same in all of said scans.

18. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of;

forming at least one ultrasonic receive beam corresponding to each of the beams in said plurality of ultrasonic transmit beams, each of said receive beams being represented with a plurality of input waveforms received from corresponding ones of said transducers and containing information for a plurality of ranges along the receive beam, at least a first and a second one of said receive beams traversing different paths through said field of view; and

demodulating the input waveforms of each of said receive beams with a respective demodulation frequency for the receive beam, the demodulation frequency for said first receive beam being higher than the demodulation frequency for said second receive beam for information at the same range.

19. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

forming at least one ultrasonic receive beam corresponding to each of the beams in said plurality of ultrasonic transmit beams, each of said receive beams being represented with a plurality of input waveforms received from corresponding ones of said transducers and containing information for a plurality of ranges along the receive beam, at least a first and a second one of said receive beams traversing different paths through said field of view;

demodulating and combining the demodulated input waveforms of each of said receive beams to produce a beam output waveform for each of said receive beams; and

filtering across the beam output waveforms for different ones of said receive beams.

20. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of exciting said array of ultrasonic transducers during said scan to produce an additional ultrasonic beam which is not in said plurality of ultrasonic beams.

21. A method according to claim 1, wherein said baseband waveforms have frequency spectrums centered at approximately 0 Hz.

22. A method according to claim 1, wherein said baseband waveforms have frequency spectrums centered at frequencies which are as low as possible on a given apparatus.

23. A method according to claim 1, wherein said baseband waveforms are the same for all of said beams.

24. A method according to claim 1, wherein said ultrasonic beams in said plurality of ultrasonic beams are all separated in time.

25. A method according to claim 1, wherein said step of exciting each respective transducer in an array of ultrasonic transducers with a respective excitation signal comprises the steps of:

exciting each respective transducer in said array with a respective excitation signal which is responsive to a respective one of said modulated baseband waveforms for one of said transmit beams; and

simultaneously exciting each respective transducer in said array with a respective excitation signal which is responsive to a respective one of said modulated baseband waveforms for another of said transmit beams.

26. A method according to claim 1, wherein a surface of said array of transducers is planar.

27. A method according to claim 1, wherein a surface of said array of transducers is curved.

28. The method for scanning a field as in claim 1 wherein a baseband waveform from which said first beam is formed is identical to a baseband waveform from which said second beam is formed.

29. The method for scanning a field as in claim 1 in which said baseband waveforms are comprised of initial waveform samples.

30. The method according to claim 1 wherein each of said baseband waveforms is a baseband waveform envelope.

31. A method for scanning a field of view with a plurality of ultrasonic receive beams to form an image, each of said receive beams being represented with a plurality of input waveforms received from corresponding transducers in an array of transducers and containing ensonified object responses for a plurality of ranges, at least a first and a second one of said receive beams traversing different paths through said field of view comprising the steps of:

forming said receive beams; and

demodulating the input waveforms to form baseband waveforms for each of said receive beams with at least one respective demodulation frequency, a demodulation frequency for said first receive beam at a given range being higher than a demodulation frequency for said second receive beam at said given range.

32. A method according to claim 31, wherein the demodulation frequency for each particular one of said receive beams is constant for all ranges of said particular receive beam.

33. A method according to claim 31, wherein the demodulation frequency for each of said receive beams varies as a function of range.

34. A method according to claim 31, wherein said field of view is two-dimensional.

35. A method according to claim 31, wherein the step of forming said receive beams comprises, for each particular one of said receive beams, the step of combining waveforms responsive to the input waveforms of the particular receive beam to produce a beam waveform for the particular receive beam,

further comprising the step of phase-aligning the beam waveforms to achieve phase coherence for said first and second receive beams at said given range.

36. A method according to claim 35, wherein said step of phase-aligning comprises the step of remodulating the beam waveform for at least one of said first and second beams at said given range with respective remodulation frequencies ω

_r¹ and ω

_r² such that

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">ω

.sub.d.sup.1 +ω

.sub.r.sup.1 =ω

.sub.d.sup.2 +ω

.sub.r.sup.2

where

ω

_d¹ is the demodulation frequency for said first receive beam at said given range, and

ω

_d² is the demodulation frequency for said second receive beam at said given range.

37. A method according to claim 36, wherein said demodulation frequencies ω

_d¹ and ω

_d² and said remodulation frequencies ω

_r¹ and ω

_r² vary with range.

38. A method according to claim 36, wherein said ensonified object responses are represented in complex format, and wherein said step of phase-aligning further comprises the step of additionally phase-rotating the ensonified object responses at each range in the beam waveform for said first receive beam by an additional range-dependent phase correction term.

39. A method according to claim 31, wherein said steps of forming and demodulating collectively comprise, for each particular one of said receive beams, the steps of:

selectively delaying waveforms responsive to the input waveforms for the particular beam by differing amounts according to a delay profile;

demodulating waveforms responsive to each of said input waveforms with the demodulation frequency for the particular beam; and

summing waveforms responsive to said input waveforms after said step of delaying and demodulating waveforms responsive to the input waveforms.

40. A method according to claim 39, wherein each said input waveforms contain ensonified object responses represented in complex format at said plurality of ranges, further comprising the step of phase-rotating waveforms responsive to each input waveform for at least one of said first and second beams at said given range to phase-align said first and second beams with each other at said given range.

41. A method according to claim 31, wherein said field of view has a central region and an outer region extending laterally from said central region in said field of view,

and wherein said first beam traverses said central region and said second beam traverses said outer region.

42. A method according to claim 31, wherein said field of view has two laterally opposite edges, a central region, and a pair of outer regions each extending laterally from said central region to a respective one of said edges of said field of view,

and wherein said first beam traverses said central region and said second beam traverses one of said outer regions.

43. A method according to claim 31, further comprising the step of repeating the steps of forming and demodulating, to produce a plurality of scans of said field of view separated in time, the demodulation frequency for each of said receive beams being the same in all of said scans.

44. The method of claim 31 in which the demodulation frequency of said first receive beam is responsive to a transmit excitation at a first ultrasound frequency and the demodulation frequency of said second receive beam is responsive to a transmit excitation at a second ultrasound frequency.

45. A method for scanning a field of view with a plurality of ultrasonic transmit beams, at least a first and a second of which traverse different paths through said field of view, comprising the steps of:

providing at least one baseband waveform for different ones of said transmit beams;

modulating each of said baseband waveforms for each given one of said transmit beams to an ultrasonic frequency for said given transmit beam, the ultrasonic frequency for said first transmit beam being higher than the ultrasonic frequency for said second transmit beam;

for each given one of said transmit beams, exciting each respective transducer in an array of ultrasonic transducers with a respective excitation signal which is responsive to a respective one of said modulated baseband waveforms for the given transmit beam;

forming a plurality of ultrasonic receive beams, each of said receive beams being represented with a plurality of input waveforms received from corresponding transducers in said array of transducers and containing ensonified object responses for a plurality of ranges along the receive beam, at least a first and a second one of said receive beams traversing different paths through said field of view; and

demodulating the input waveforms with a respective demodulation frequency to form demodulated baseband waveforms for each of said receive beams the demodulation frequency for said first receive beam at a given range being higher than the demodulation frequency for said second receive beam at said given range.

46. A method according to claim 45, wherein said first transmit beam intersects a surface of said array at a point, and with a same steering angle relative to a normal to said surface, as those of said first receive beam;

and

wherein said second transmit beam intersects said surface at the point, and with the same steering angle relative to a normal to said surface, as those of said second receive beam.

47. A method according to claim 46, wherein said field of view has a central region and an outer region extending laterally from said central region in said field of view,

wherein said first transmit beam and said first receive beam both traverse said central region,

and wherein said second transmit beam and said second receive beam both traverse said outer region.

48. A method according to claim 46, wherein said field of view has two laterally opposite edges, a central region, and a pair of outer regions each extending laterally from said central region to a respective one of said edges of said field of view,

wherein said first transmit beam and said first receive beam both traverse said central region,

and wherein said second transmit beam and said second receive beam both traverse one of said outer regions.

49. A method according to claim 45, wherein said plurality of ultrasonic receive beams further includes third and fourth receive beams each traversing a respective path through said field of view, both different from the paths of both said first and second receive beams,

wherein said first and third receive beams are both formed in response to said first transmit beam,

and wherein said second and fourth receive beams are both formed in response to said second transmit beam.

50. A method according to claim 45, wherein said field of view is two-dimensional.

51. The method for scanning a field as in claim 45 wherein a baseband waveform from which said first beam is formed is identical to a baseband waveform from which said second beam is formed.

52. The method for scanning a field as in claim 45 in which said baseband waveforms are comprised of amplitude and phase samples.

53. A method according to claim 45 wherein the baseband waveforms are initial waveform envelopes.

54. A method according to claim 45 wherein the baseband waveforms comprise initial waveform samples.

55. A method according to claim 45 wherein the demodulated baseband waveforms comprise demodulated waveform samples.

56. A method for scanning a field of view with a plurality of ultrasonic transmit beams transmitted from a transducer array comprised of a plurality of elements and responsive to a beamformer, wherein at least a first and a second of said ultrasonic transmit beams extend at a same angle relative to a respective normal to a surface of an array of transducers but have different points of intersection with said surface, comprising the steps of:

producing said first transmit beam with a first ultrasonic frequency; and

producing said second transmit beam with a second ultrasonic frequency below said first ultrasonic frequency.

57. A method according to claim 56, wherein said field of view has a central region and an outer region extending laterally in said field of view,

and wherein said first beam traverses said central region and said second beam traverse said outer region.

58. A method according to claim 57, further comprising the steps of:

forming a plurality of ultrasonic receive beams, each of said receive beams being represented with a plurality of input waveforms received from corresponding transducers in said array of transducers and containing ensonified object responses for a plurality of ranges along the receive beam, at least a first and a second one of said receive beams extending at a same angle relative to a respective normal to said surface of said array of transducers but having different points of intersection with said surface; and

demodulating the input waveforms for each of said receive beams with a respective demodulation frequency, a demodulation frequency for said first receive beam range being higher than a demodulation frequency for said second receive beam for a same range,

said first receive beam traversing said central region and said second receive beam traversing one of said outer regions.

59. A method according to claim 58, wherein all of said beams in said plurality of ultrasonic receive beams traverse parallel pats through said field of view.

60. A method according to claim 56, wherein said field of view has two laterally opposite edges, a central region, and a pair of outer regions each extending laterally from said central region to a respective one of said edges of said field of view,

and wherein said first beam traverses said central region and said second beam traverses one of said outer regions.

61. A method according to claim 56, wherein said step of producing said first transmit beam comprises the steps of:

providing at least one baseband waveform for said first transmit beam;

modulating each of said baseband waveforms for said first transmit beam to the first ultrasonic frequency for said first transmit beam; and

exciting each respective transducer in said array of ultrasonic transducers with a respective excitation signal which is responsive to a respective one of said modulated baseband waveforms for said first transmit beam,

and wherein said step of producing said second transmit beam comprises the steps of;

providing at least one baseband waveform for said second transmit beam;

modulating each of said baseband waveforms for said second transmit beam to the second ultrasonic frequency for said second transmit beam; and

exciting each respective transducer in said array of ultrasonic transducers with a respective excitation signal which is responsive to a respective one of said modulated baseband waveforms for said second transmit beam.

62. A method according to claim 56, wherein all of said beams in said plurality of ultrasonic transmit beams traverse parallel paths through said field of view.

63. A method according to claim 56, wherein said field of view is two-dimensional.

64. Apparatus for scanning a field of view with a plurality of ultrasonic transmit beams, including a first and a second of said beams, comprising:

an array of ultrasonic transducers having a surface;

modulation circuitry for modulating of at least one baseband waveform for each of said transmit beams to an ultrasonic frequency for said each transmit beam, the ultrasonic frequency for said first transmit beam being higher than the ultrasonic frequency for said second transmit beam; and

excitation circuitry which, for each of said transmit beams, excites each transducer in an array of ultrasonic transducers with an excitation signal which is responsive to said modulated baseband waveforms for the transmit beams, said first and second transmit beams being produced from said array with different paths through said field of view.

65. Apparatus for scanning a field of view with a plurality of ultrasonic receive beams including a first and a second of said receive beams, each of said receive beams being represented with a plurality of input waveforms received from corresponding transducers in an array of transducers and containing information at a plurality of ranges, comprising:

an array of transducers having a surface;

beamformation apparatus forming said receive beams, at least said first and second receive beams traversing different paths through said field of view; and

demodulation circuitry for demodulating the input waveforms to demodulated baseband waveforms for each of said receive beams with a respective demodulation frequency for each receive beam, a demodulation frequency for said first receive beam at a given range being higher than a demodulation frequency for said second receive beam at said given range.

66. Apparatus for scanning a field of view with a plurality of ultrasonic transmit beams including a first and a second of said transmit beams, and a plurality of ultrasonic receive beams including a first and a second of said receive beams, each of said receive beams being represented with a plurality of input waveforms received from corresponding transducers in an array of transducers containing ensonified object responses at a plurality of ranges, comprising:

an array of ultrasonic transducers having a surface;

modulation circuitry for modulating of at least one baseband waveform for each of said transmit beams to an ultrasonic frequency for said transmit beam, the ultrasonic frequency for said first transmit beam being higher than the ultrasonic frequency for said second transmit beam; and

excitation circuitry which, for each one of said transmit beams, excites each transducer in said array of ultrasonic transducers with a respective excitation signal which is responsive to one of said modulated baseband waveforms for the transmit beam, said first and second transmit beams being produced from said array with different paths through said field of view;

beamformation apparatus forming said receive beams, at least said first and second receive beams traversing different paths through said field of view; and

demodulation circuitry for demodulating the input waveforms for each of said receive beams with a respective demodulation frequency for each receive beam, a demodulation frequency for said first receive beam at a given range being higher than a demodulation frequency for said second receive beam at said given range.

67. Apparatus for scanning a field of view with a plurality of ultrasonic transmit beams including a first and a second one of said transmit beams, comprising:

an array of ultrasonic transducers having a surface;

means for exciting multiple elements of said array of transducers with appropriate time delays to produce said first transmit beam with a first ultrasonic frequency, said first transmit beam extending at a first angle relative to a normal to said surface of said array and having a first point of intersection with said surface of said array;

means for exciting said array of transducers to produce said second transmit beam with a second ultrasonic frequency, said second transmit beam extending at said first angle relative to a normal to said surface of said array and having a second point of intersection with said surface of said array,

wherein said second point of intersection is different from said first point of intersection, and wherein said second ultrasonic frequency is below said first ultrasonic frequency.

68. A method for scanning a field of view with a plurality of ultrasonic transmit beams, at least a first and a second of which traverse different paths through said field of view, comprising the steps of:

generating a waveform for each of said transmit beams at an ultrasonic frequency, the ultrasonic frequency for said first transmit beam being higher than the ultrasonic frequency for said second transmit beam; and

for each of said transmit beams, exciting each respective transducer in an array of ultrasonic transducers with a respective excitation signal which is responsive to a respective one of said generated waveforms to produce the given transmit beam.

69. A method for scanning a field of view with a plurality of ultrasonic transmit beams, at least a first and a second of which traverse different paths through said field of view, comprising the steps of:

generating a set of waveform samples for each of said transmit beams at an ultrasonic frequency, the ultrasonic frequency for said first transmit beam being higher than the ultrasonic frequency for said second transmit beam;

for each of said transmit beams, exciting each respective transducer in an array of ultrasonic transducers with a respective excitation signal which is responsive to a respective one set of said generated waveform samples to produce the transmit beam;

forming a plurality of ultrasonic receive beams, each of said receive beams being represented with a plurality of input waveforms received from corresponding transducers in said array of transducers and containing information for a plurality of ranges along the receive beam, at least a first and a second one of said receive beams traversing different paths through said field of view; and

demodulating the input waveforms to form demodulated baseband waveforms for each of said receive beams with a respective demodulation frequency, a demodulation frequency for said first receive beam at a given range being higher than a demodulation frequency-for said second receive beam at said given range.

70. Apparatus for scanning a field of view with a plurality of ultrasonic transmit and receive beams, including with a first and a second transmit beam, and first one or more receive beams corresponding to said first transmit beam and second one or more receive beams corresponding to said second transmit beam comprising:

an array of ultrasonic transducers; and

circuitry for modulating waveforms to create transmit excitation waveforms associated with transmit beams, and for demodulating waveforms associated with receive beams, said circuitry including means for producing excitation waveforms at a higher ultrasonic frequency associated with said first transmit beam and a lower ultrasonic frequency associated with a second transmit beam;

wherein said first and second transmit beams are produced from said array along different paths through said field of view.

71. The apparatus of claim 70 wherein said modulation circuitry modulates baseband waveforms to produce first modulated waveforms applied to said ultrasonic transducers to produce said first transmit beam and modulates baseband waveforms to produce second modulated waveforms applied to said ultrasonic transducers to produce said second transmit beam.

72. The apparatus of claim 70 further comprising beamforming apparatus for forming said first one or more receive beams corresponding to said first transmit beam, and for forming said second one or more receive beams corresponding to said second transmit beam.

73. The apparatus of claim 72 wherein said demodulation circuitry produces first demodulated baseband waveforms from input waveforms which are combined to form said first one or more receive beams, and second demodulated baseband waveforms from input waveforms which are combined to form said second one or more receive beams.

74. The apparatus of claim 73 wherein said demodulation circuitry produces demodulated baseband waveforms from input waveforms for each receive beam, said first one or more receive beams having a higher demodulation frequency than said second one or more receive beams.

75. The apparatus of claim 73 further including remodulation circuitry to produce first one or more remodulated waveforms associated respectively with said first one or more receive beams, and second one or more remodulated waveforms associated respectively with said second one or more receive beams, wherein phase coherence is maintained between said first one or more and said second one or more remodulated waveforms corresponding respectively to said first one or more and second one or more receive beams.

76. The apparatus of claim 75 wherein the sum of a first demodulation frequency corresponding to said first demodulated waveforms plus a first remodulation frequency corresponding to said first remodulated waveforms is equal to the sum of a second demodulated frequency corresponding to said second demodulated waveforms plus a second remodulation frequency corresponding to said second remodulated waveforms.

77. The apparatus of claim 70 or claim 76 wherein each transmit beam is associated with a single receive beam.

78. The apparatus of claim 70 or claim 76 wherein each transmit beam is associated with a plurality of receive beams.

79. The apparatus of claim 70 wherein a surface of said array of transducers is planar.

80. The apparatus of claim 70 wherein a surface of said array of transducers is curved.