Digital scanline signal processor for an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system
First Claim
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1. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system comprising:
- a multiline beamformer for producing signals of at least two coherent scanlines in response to one transmit interval; and
a speckle reduction circuit coupled to receive said coherent scanline signals from said multiline beamformer, for reducing the speckle content of said scanline signals.
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Abstract
A digital scanline signal processor which processes beamformed echo signals includes a normalization circuit, a speckle reduction processor, and a gain stage which amplifies detected echo signals. The normalization circuit applies depth dependent gain to the scanline signals to equalize the amplitudes in channels of the processor with different passband characteristics. A log compression circuit includes two compression functions for low level and high level echo signals.
93 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system comprising:
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a multiline beamformer for producing signals of at least two coherent scanlines in response to one transmit interval; and a speckle reduction circuit coupled to receive said coherent scanline signals from said multiline beamformer, for reducing the speckle content of said scanline signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 19, 20)
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3. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system, including a beamformer for producing signals of coherent scanlines, comprising:
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a normalization circuit for compensating for the effects of different apertures during the reception of echo signals; a multiple channel scanline processing circuit for processing said scanlines with different response characteristics; a processor for equalizing the nominal signal amplitudes of said multiple channels; and means for combining said differently processed scanlines. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6)
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7. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system, including a beamformer for producing signals of coherent scanlines, comprising:
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an interpolator responsive to said coherent scanline signals for producing coherent interpolated scanline signals; and a speckle reduction circuit coupled to receive said interpolated scanline signals, for reducing the speckle content of said signals. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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8. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system, including a beamformer for producing signals of coherent scanlines, comprising:
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an interpolator responsive to said coherent scanline signals for producing interpolated scanline signals; and a speckle reduction circuit coupled to receive said interpolated scanline signals, for reducing the speckle content of said signals, wherein said beamformer comprises a multiline beamformer.
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10. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system, including a beamformer for producing signals of coherent scanlines, comprising:
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an interpolator responsive to said coherent scanline signals for producing interpolated scanline signals; and a speckle reduction circuit coupled to receive said interpolated scanline signals, for reducing the speckle content of said signals, wherein said interpolator includes a line buffer, and wherein said line buffer is further used to form a synthetic aperture.
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11. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system, including a beamformer for producing signals of coherent scanlines, comprising:
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a normalization circuit for compensating for the effects of different apertures during the reception of echo signals; a detector for detecting normalized scanline signals; and a gain stage coupled to the output of said detector, wherein said gain stage applies a gain which has been partitioned between said normalization circuit and said gain stage. - View Dependent Claims (12, 18)
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13. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system, including analog circuitry which amplifies received ultrasonic echo signals and a beamformer coupled to receive said ultrasonic echo signals for producing signals of coherent scanlines, comprising:
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a detector for detecting said scanline signals; and a gain stage coupled to the output of said detector, wherein said beamformer comprises a digital beamformer; wherein the gain of said analog circuitry is chosen in consideration of the dynamic range of said digital beamformer; and wherein said gain stage applies a gain which is selected in consideration of the gain of said analog circuitry. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system, including a beamformer coupled to receive said ultrasonic echo signals for producing signals of coherent scanlines, comprising:
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a detector for detecting said scanline signals; and a log compression circuit coupled to receive detected scanline signals, wherein said log compression circuit exhibits at least two compression characteristics.
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Specification