Hand held ultrasonic diagnostic instrument with digital beamformer
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A handheld ultrasound device comprising:
- an enclosure;
an array transducer located in said enclosure and accessing a patient through an acoustic window;
a receiver, located in said enclosure, for receiving echoes from the elements of said array transducer; and
a digital beamformer, coupled to said receiver, for digitally delaying and combining echo signals received by said elements of said array transducer to form an ultrasonic beam.
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Abstract
A hand held ultrasonic instrument is provided in a portable unit which performs both B mode and Doppler imaging. The instrument includes a transducer array mounted in a hand-held enclosure, with an integrated circuit transceiver connected to the elements of the array for the reception of echo signals. A digital beamformer is located in the hand-held enclosure for forming ultrasonic scanlines from the echo signals received by the elements of the array.
337 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A handheld ultrasound device comprising:
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an enclosure; an array transducer located in said enclosure and accessing a patient through an acoustic window; a receiver, located in said enclosure, for receiving echoes from the elements of said array transducer; and a digital beamformer, coupled to said receiver, for digitally delaying and combining echo signals received by said elements of said array transducer to form an ultrasonic beam. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A handheld ultrasound device comprising:
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an enclosure; an array transducer located in said enclosure and accessing a patient through an acoustic window; a transceiver circuit, mounted in said enclosure and connected to the elements of said array transducer, for exciting said elements to transmit ultrasonic waves and receiving echoes from said elements; and a digital beamformer, coupled to said transceiver circuit, for controlling the transmission of ultrasonic waves by said array transducer and delaying and combining echo signals received by said elements of said array transducer to form an ultrasonic beam. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. An integrated circuit for an ultrasonic imaging system comprising:
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a plurality of A/D converters located on said integrated circuit; a plurality of digital delays located on said integrated circuit and coupled to receive digital signals produced by said A/D converters; and a summing circuit coupled to combine digital signals from said digital delays. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A handheld ultrasonic imaging device, comprising:
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an array transducer; and a beamforming integrated circuit chip including; a plurality of A/D converters having inputs coupled to receive signals from said array transducer; a plurality of digital delays coupled to receive digital signals produced by said A/D converters; and a summing circuit coupled to combine digital signals from said digital delays; and one or more enclosures for housing said array transducer and said integrated circuit. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
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Specification