Ultrasonic method and system for imaging blood flow including disruption or activation of a contrast agent
First Claim
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1. An ultrasonic imaging system for imaging a vessel comprising blood and a contrast agent, said system comprising:
- a transducer probe;
an ultrasonic transmitter coupled to the probe and operative to transmit first sets of higher power ultrasonic signals into a first region of the vessel and second sets of lower power ultrasonic signals into a second region of the vessel, said higher power ultrasonic signals operative to disrupt the contrast agent in the first region of the vessel and to create a volume of blood in the vessel characterized by a reduced concentration of operative contrast agent, said lower power ultrasonic signals disrupting the contrast agent to a lesser extent than the higher power ultrasonic signals, said second region including additional portions of the vessel not included in the first region and positioned downstream of the first region with respect to blood flow;
an ultrasonic receiver coupled to the probe and responsive to echo information associated with at least the second sets of lower power ultrasonic signals to form an image of the contrast agent in the second region.
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Abstract
An ultrasonic imaging system uses first and second perpendicular arrays. The first array is operated at high power to selectively destroy contrast agent suspended in flowing blood in discrete regions. The second array is used to image the alternating bands of contrast agent depleted blood and contrast image containing blood in order to allow blood flow characteristics to be assessed.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. An ultrasonic imaging system for imaging a vessel comprising blood and a contrast agent, said system comprising:
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a transducer probe; an ultrasonic transmitter coupled to the probe and operative to transmit first sets of higher power ultrasonic signals into a first region of the vessel and second sets of lower power ultrasonic signals into a second region of the vessel, said higher power ultrasonic signals operative to disrupt the contrast agent in the first region of the vessel and to create a volume of blood in the vessel characterized by a reduced concentration of operative contrast agent, said lower power ultrasonic signals disrupting the contrast agent to a lesser extent than the higher power ultrasonic signals, said second region including additional portions of the vessel not included in the first region and positioned downstream of the first region with respect to blood flow; an ultrasonic receiver coupled to the probe and responsive to echo information associated with at least the second sets of lower power ultrasonic signals to form an image of the contrast agent in the second region. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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2. An ultrasonic imaging system for imaging a vessel comprising blood and a contrast agent, said system comprising:
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a transducer probe; an ultrasonic transmitter coupled to the probe and operative to transmit first sets of higher power ultrasonic signals into a first region of the vessel and second sets of lower power ultrasonic signals into a second region of the vessel, said higher power ultrasonic signals operative to activate the contrast agent in the first region of the vessel and to create a volume of blood in the vessel characterized by an enhanced concentration of operative contrast agent, said lower power ultrasonic signals activating the contrast agent to a lesser extent than the higher power ultrasonic signals, said second region including additional portions of the vessel not included in the first region and positioned downstream of the first region with respect to blood flow; an ultrasonic receiver coupled to the probe and responsive to echo information associated with at least the second sets of lower power ultrasonic signals to form an image of the contrast agent in the second region.
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Specification