Ultrasonic imaging apparatus and method for breast cancer diagnosis with the use of volume rendering
First Claim
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1. A method for producing an ultrasonic image which may contain hypoechoic tissue comprising mapping ultrasonic image data by means of a transfer function which emphasizes low level ultrasonic echo signals in relation to high level ultrasonic echo signals.
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Abstract
An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system is described which produces ultrasonic breast images by acquiring ultrasonic data from a volumetric region of the breast, then volume rendering the data to produce a projection image from the data set. The diagnostic image reveals diagnostic information of the complete volume of breast tissue in a single ultrasonic image.
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10 Claims
- 1. A method for producing an ultrasonic image which may contain hypoechoic tissue comprising mapping ultrasonic image data by means of a transfer function which emphasizes low level ultrasonic echo signals in relation to high level ultrasonic echo signals.
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4. A method for imaging hypoechoic structures of the breast comprising the steps of:
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processing ultrasonic echo information received from a region of the breast to produce B mode signals; processing ultrasonic echo information received from said region of the breast to produce Doppler signals; processing said B mode signals to produce image signals which emphasize hypoechoic areas of said region; and suppressing the display of hypoechoic areas of said region which correspond to said Doppler signals.
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5. A method for producing diagnostic ultrasonic images of a breast, comprising the steps of:
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acquiring an ultrasonic data set of a volumetric region of a breast; and volume rendering said ultrasonic data to produce a projection image of said data of said volumetric region, wherein said volume rendering comprises utilizing an opacity transfer function which renders lesions with greater opacity than normal tissue. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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