Ultrasound system and method for variable transmission of ultrasonic signals
First Claim
1. A method for transmitting ultrasonic beams in a region using a selected event in a physio reference signal of a patient, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) predicting a future occurrence of a selected event in a physio reference signal of a patient;
(b) determining a future occurrence of a second event by subtracting a selected time interval from the predicted fixture occurrence of the selected event;
(c) transmitting a first set of ultrasonic beams into the region at the second event; and
(d) transmitting a second set of ultrasonic beams into the region at the predicted future occurrence of the selected event.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An ultrasound system and method for variable transmission of ultrasonic signals are presented. With this method and system, ultrasonic beams can be transmitted into a region in response to a selected event in a reference signal by predicting a future occurrence of a selected event in a reference signal, transmitting a first set of ultrasonic beams into the region at the predicted future occurrence, and transmitting a second set of ultrasonic beams into the region at a selected time interval preceding the predicted future occurrence. Additional applications of the method and system are presented.
73 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for transmitting ultrasonic beams in a region using a selected event in a physio reference signal of a patient, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) predicting a future occurrence of a selected event in a physio reference signal of a patient; (b) determining a future occurrence of a second event by subtracting a selected time interval from the predicted fixture occurrence of the selected event; (c) transmitting a first set of ultrasonic beams into the region at the second event; and (d) transmitting a second set of ultrasonic beams into the region at the predicted future occurrence of the selected event. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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2. A method for performing an ultrasound examination on a region comprising blood and contrast agent, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) predicting a future occurrence of a selected event in a physio reference signal of a patient; (b) determining a future occurrence of a second event by subtracting a selected time interval from the predicted future occurrence of the selected event; (c) transmitting a set of higher power ultrasonic signals into the region, said set of higher power ultrasonic signals operative to selectively disrupt the contrast agent in the region to create a reduced concentration of operative contrast agent; and (d) transmitting a set of lower power ultrasonic signals into the region to image the contrast agent in the region, said set of lower power ultrasonic signals disrupting the contrast agent to a lesser extent than the set of higher power ultrasonic signals; one of steps c or d being synchronized with the predicted future occurrence of the selected event and the other of steps c or d being performed at the second event.
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3. A method for performing an ultrasound examination on a region comprising blood and contrast agent in a body, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) predicting a future occurrence of a selected event in a physio reference signal of a patient; (b) determining a future occurrence of a second event by subtracting a selected time interval from the predicted future occurrence of the selected event; (c) transmitting a set of higher power ultrasonic signals into the region, said set of higher power ultrasonic signals operative to selectively activate the contrast agent in the region to create an enhanced concentration of operative contrast agent; and (d) transmitting a set of lower power ultrasonic signals into the region to image the contrast agent in the region, said set of lower power ultrasonic signals activating the contrast agent to a lesser extent than the set of higher power ultrasonic signals; one of steps c or d being synchronized with the predicted future occurrence of the selected event and the other of steps c or d being performed at the second event.
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4. A method for performing an ultrasound examination on a region comprising blood and contrast agent, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) predicting a future occurrence of a selected event in a physio reference signal of a patient; (b) determining a future occurrence of a second event by subtracting a first time interval from the predicted future occurrence of the selected event; (c) transmitting a set of higher power ultrasonic signals into the region, said set of higher power ultrasonic signals operative to selectively disrupt the contrast agent in the region to create a reduced concentration of operative contrast agent; and (d) transmitting a set of lower power ultrasonic signals into the region to measure a concentration level of contrast agent in the region, said set of lower power ultrasonic signals disrupting the contrast agent to a lesser extent than the set of higher power ultrasonic signals, one of steps c or d being synchronized with the predicted future occurrence of the selected event and the other of steps c or d being performed at the second event; and (e) repeating steps (a) through (d) at a second time interval. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9)
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5. A method for performing an ultrasound examination on a region comprising blood and contrast agent in a body, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) predicting a future occurrence of a selected event in a physio reference signal of a patient; (b) determining a future occurrence of a second event by subtracting a first time interval from the predicted future occurrence of the selected event; (c) transmitting a set of higher power ultrasonic signals into the region, said set of higher power ultrasonic signals operative to selectively activate the contrast agent in the region to create an enhanced concentration of operative contrast agent; and (d) transmitting a set of lower power ultrasonic signals into the region to measure a concentration level of contrast agent in the region, said set of lower power ultrasonic signals activating the contrast agent to a lesser extent than the set of higher power ultrasonic signals, one of steps c or d being synchronized with the predicted future occurrence of the selected event and the other of steps c or d being performed at the second event; and (e) repeating steps (a) through (d) at a second time interval.
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10. A method for physio-signal activation of a surgical tool before an anticipated transmission of a set of ultrasonic beams, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) predicting a future occurrence of a selected event in a physio reference signal of a patient; (b) determining a future occurrence of a second event by subtracting a selected time interval from the predicted future occurrence of the selected event; (c) transmitting a first set of ultrasonic beams into the region at the second event; and (d) activating a surgical tool to perform an action in the region at the predicted future occurrence of the selected event.
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17. In an ultrasound imaging system comprising a transmit beamformer, a receive beamformer, a transducer responsive to the transmit beamformer and coupled to the receive beamformer, and means for providing a physio reference signal, the improvement comprising:
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means, responsive to the reference signal, for predicting a future occurrence of a selected event in the reference signal; means, responsive to the reference signal, for determining a future occurrence of a second event by subtracting a first time interval from the predicted future occurrence of the selected event; means, coupled to the transmit beamformer for transmitting a first set of ultrasonic beams into the region at the second event, and means, coupled to the transmit beamformer, for transmitting a second set of ultrasonic beams into the region at the predicted future occurrence. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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Specification