Multiple ultrasound image registration system, method and transducer
First Claim
1. An ultrasonic transducer comprising:
- a support element;
a first transducer phased array coupled to move with the support element and comprising a plurality of first transducer elements arranged along an azimuthal axis, said first transducer array comprising first and second ends spaced along the azimuthal axis and a first central image plane;
a second transducer phased array coupled to move with the support element and comprising a plurality of second transducer elements, said transducer array positioned near the first end of the first transducer array and comprising a second central image plane;
a third transducer phased array coupled to move with the support element and comprising a plurality of third transducer elements, said third transducer array positioned near the second end of the first transducer array and comprising a third central image plane;
said first and second central image planes being non-parallel, and said first and third central image planes being non-parallel, anda transmit beamformer and a receive beamformer coupled to the first second and third transducer arrays.
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Abstract
An ultrasonic imaging system includes an ultrasonic transducer having an image data array and a tracking array at each end of the image data array. The tracking arrays are oriented transversely to the image data array. Images from the image data array are used to reconstruct a three-dimensional representation of the target. The relative movement between respective frames of the image data is automatically estimated by a motion estimator, based on frames of data from the tracking arrays. As the transducer is rotated about the azimuthal axis of the image data array, features of the target remain within the image planes of the tracking arrays. Movements of these features in the image planes of the tracking arrays are used to estimate motion as required for the three-dimensional reconstruction. Similar techniques estimate motion within the plane of an image to create an extended field of view.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. An ultrasonic transducer comprising:
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a support element; a first transducer phased array coupled to move with the support element and comprising a plurality of first transducer elements arranged along an azimuthal axis, said first transducer array comprising first and second ends spaced along the azimuthal axis and a first central image plane; a second transducer phased array coupled to move with the support element and comprising a plurality of second transducer elements, said transducer array positioned near the first end of the first transducer array and comprising a second central image plane; a third transducer phased array coupled to move with the support element and comprising a plurality of third transducer elements, said third transducer array positioned near the second end of the first transducer array and comprising a third central image plane; said first and second central image planes being non-parallel, and said first and third central image planes being non-parallel, and a transmit beamformer and a receive beamformer coupled to the first second and third transducer arrays. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An ultrasonic transducer comprising:
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a support element; a first transducer array coupled to move with the support element and comprising a plurality of first transducer elements arranged along an azimuthal axis, said first transducer array comprising first and second ends spaced along the azimuthal axis and a first central image plane; a pair of single-element transducer elements each positioned on a respective side near the first end of the first transducer array; a pair of single-element transducer elements each positioned on a respective side near the second end of the first transducer array. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. An ultrasonic transducer comprising:
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a support element, a first transducer array coupled to move with the support element and comprising a plurality of first transducer elements arranged along an azimuthal axis, said first transducer array comprising first and second ends spaced along the azimuthal axis and a first central image plane; a second transducer array coupled to move with the support element and comprising a plurality of second, annular transducer elements positioned near the first end of the first transducer array; a third transducer array coupled to move with the support element and comprising a plurality of third, annular transducer elements positioned near the second end of the first transducer array. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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Specification