Ultrasonic data analysis and display system

• US 6,301,512 B1
• Filed: 04/15/1996
• Issued: 10/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Motzer, William P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cosimano, Edward R.
• Application Number:
  US08/632,638
• Time in Patent Office: 2,003 Days
• Field of Search: 345/115, 364/507, 364/508, 364/550, 700/90, 702/35, 702/36, 702/39
• US Class Current: 700/90
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/00 Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves imaging of objects using sonar G01S15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/463 characterised by displaying multiple images or images and diagnostic data on one display composite display in devices for short-range imaging with acoustic waves G01S7/52074
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/011 Velocity or travel time
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/015 Attenuation, scattering
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/044 Internal reflections (echoes), e.g. on walls or defects
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/0609 Display arrangements, e.g. colour displays indicating or recording in connection with measuring in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/0645 Display representation or displayed parameters, e.g. A-, B- or C-Scan
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52058 displaying one measured variable; A-scan display
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/5206 Two-dimensional coordinated display of distance and direction; B-scan display
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52073 Production of cursor lines, markers or indicia by electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52074 Composite displays, e.g. split-screen displays; Combination of multiple images or of images and alphanumeric tabular information

Abstract

An ultrasonic data analysis and display system for use with ultrasonic test apparatus. The ultrasonic analysis and display system includes a display that is divided into six different display formats, including a pulse echo, a time of flight display, an A-Scan, a horizontal and vertical B-Scan, and a control display. Each of the displays gives a different view of the ultrasonic test data obtained from a test part. When a portion of the ultrasonic data in any of the display formats is selected, the other display formats are automatically updated to reflect the operator'"'"'s selections. The format of the displayed data can be changed to a half-wave positive, a half-wave negative, or a full-wave rectification. Distances within any of the display formats can be measured by selecting two data points. Also, different color palettes for displaying the ultrasonic data can be selected, and portions of the ultrasonic data displayed in the pulse echo or time of flight displays can be enlarged by zooming in on a selected portion.

Claims

1. A system for analyzing and displaying ultrasonic test data produced by an ultrasonic test apparatus for a test part, the system comprising:

(a) a display for simultaneously displaying ultrasonic test data in at least two display portions, including a first display portion and a second display portion, each of said display portions displaying ultrasonic test data in a format selected from the group consisting of an A-Scan, a B-Scan, a pulse echo, and a time of flight format, said display presenting ultrasonic test data in a manner such that locations on said display correspond to locations on said test part;

(b) an input device responsive to an operator'"'"'s input for selecting at least one location on said first display portion, wherein said at least one location corresponds to a selection of the ultrasonic test data as displayed within said first display portion, and producing display location data, wherein said display location data can be produced a plurality of times in response to a plurality of input selections by the operator; and

(c) control means coupled to said display and said input device for receiving the display location data from said input device, determining ultrasonic test data parameters corresponding to the display location data, filtering out portions of the ultrasonic test data based on the combination of the ultrasonic test data parameters and the format of said second display portion, and for causing said second display portion to update said display of ultrasonic data by displaying portions of the ultrasonic test data that have not been filtered out, wherein said filtering and updating of data can be done a plurality of times in response to a plurality of display location data produced by said input device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the display simultaneously displays the ultrasonic test data in at least three display portions, including a third display portion displaying test data in a format selected from the group consisting of A-Scan, B-Scan, pulse echo and time of flight, and wherein said control means additionally filters out portions of the ultrasonic test data based on the combination of the ultrasonic test data parameters and the format of said third display portion, causing said third display portion to update said display of ultrasonic data by displaying portions of the ultrasonic test data that have not been filtered out by the filtering corresponding to said third display portion.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the input device allows the operator to select two locations on one of the display portions, and wherein the control means includes a processor that calculates the distance between the locations on the test part related to the two selected locations on one of the display portions.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said first display portion displays data in any display format other than an A-Scan format, and wherein said ultrasonic test data parameters include the specification of at least one location on the test part, and wherein said second display portion displays data related to said at least one location in an A-Scan format.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said first display portion displays test data in an A-Scan format, and said control means filters out ultrasonic test data outside of a specified depth within the test part, said depth being determine by a selection of a location within said first display portion.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said first display portion displays test data in in A-Scan format, said ultrasonic test data parameters include the specification of an amplitude of ultrasonic energy, and the control means causes the second display portion to filter out ultrasonic test data outside of said amplitude of ultrasonic energy.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein:

(a) said input device is responsive to an operator'"'"'s input for selecting at least one location on said second display portion, and producing second display location data; and

(b) said control means determines second ultrasonic test data parameters corresponding to said second display location data, filters out portions of the ultrasonic test data based on the combination of said second ultrasonic test data parameters and the format of said first display portion, and causes said display to update sad first display portion by displaying portions of the ultrasonic test data that have not been filtered out.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein said ultrasonic test data parameters include the specification of at least one location on the test part, and wherein the display simultaneously displays the ultrasonic test data in a first B-Scan format using the ultrasonic data taken along a first axis of the test part passing through the specified location on the test part and in a second B-Scan format using the ultrasonic test data taken along a second as of the test part that also passes through the specified location on the test part, said simultaneous display thereby presenting to the operator a view along three different dimensions of ultrasonic test data taken from the area surrounding the location on the test part.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the display simultaneously displays the ultrasonic test data in at least three display portions, and wherein said first display portion displays test data in a format other than B-Scan, thereby presenting to the operator a view along three different dimensions of ultrasonic test data taken from the area surrounding the location on the test part, said view being manipulated in a unitary manner by reference to said first display portion.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein said first display portion displays ultrasonic test data in a pulse echo format and said control means causes a horizontal and a vertical cross hair to be produced on said first display portion at the selected location.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said second display portion displays the ultrasonic test data in a horizontal B-Scan format, and said display also displays data in a third display portion, said third display portion displaying the ultrasonic test data in a vertical B-Scan format, wherein said control means determines a horizontal line on the test part corresponding to the horizontal cross hair and causes said second display to display ultrasonic test data taken along the horizontal line, and wherein said control means determines a vertical line on the test part corresponding to the vertical cross hair and causes said third display to display ultrasonic test data taken along the vertical line, the simultaneous display of said horizontal B-Scan format and said vertical B-Scan format thereby presenting to the operator a view along three different dimensions of ultrasonic test data taken from the area surrounding a point in a test part, said view being manipulated in a unitary manner by reference to said first display portion.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein said first display portion displays data in a first format selected from the group consisting of pulse echo and time of flight, the input device allows the operator to select a portion of said first display portion, and the control means causes the display to display an enlarged view of the selected portion of said first display portion.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said second display portion displays data in a second format selected from the group consisting of pulse echo and time of flight, wherein said second format is different from said first format, and the control means causes the display to display an enlarged view of the portion of said second display portion corresponding to the selected portion of said first display portion, thereby allowing the combination of said first display portion and said second display portion to display test data corresponding to an identical section of the test part.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein said ultrasonic test data parameters include the specification of at least one location on the test part.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein said first display portion displays test data in an A-Scan format, said at least one location on the test part indicates a depth on the test part, and the control means filters out ultrasonic test data based on said depth for display on said second display portion.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said ultrasonic test data parameters include the specification of a beginning and an ending depth on the test part, and the control means filters out ultrasonic test data outside of the beginning and ending depths for display on said second display portion.

17. In a computer system including a display, an input device responsive to an operator'"'"'s input, a processor for controlling the display, memory means for storing ultrasonic test data obtained from a test part and programs for controlling the processor, the improvement comprising a user interface program for analyzing and displaying said ultrasonic test data obtained from a test part, said user interface program controlling said processor such that:

(a) said display simultaneously displays the ultrasonic test data in at least two formats selected from the group consisting of an A-Scan, a pulse echo, a B-Scan, and a time of flight format;

(b) after said display has displayed the ultrasonic test data in at least one format, said processor responds to an operator using said input device to select at least one location on said display, wherein said at least one location corresponds to the ultrasonic test data displayed in one of said at least two formats;

(c) said processor determines the ultrasonic test data corresponding to the selected location on the display, and further determines the locations on the test part corresponding to the location on the display;

d) said processor filters out a portion of the ultrasonic test data, said filtering being determined by said locations on the test part and a second one of at least two formats;

e) said processor instructs said display to update said second format in response to the operator'"'"'s selection using a portion of the ultrasonic test data that has not been filtered out, and is related to said selected location; and

f) said display updates said second other format in response to said processor'"'"'s instructions.

18. The improvement claimed in claim 17, wherein the display simultaneously displays the ultrasonic test data in at least three formats, including an A-Scan, a pulse echo, and a B-Scan format, wherein the operator'"'"'s selection can be made on any one of said three formats, and wherein said processor updates the other two of said formats in response to the operator'"'"'s selection, thereby providing three different views of the ultrasonic test data related to a location on the test part, said views being manipulable by reference to any one view.

19. The improvement claimed in claim 17, wherein the display simultaneously displays the ultrasonic test data in an A-Scan, a pulse echo and a time of flight format.

20. The improvement claimed in claim 17, wherein the display simultaneously displays the ultrasonic test data in A-Scan, B-Scan, pulse echo, and a time of flight formats, each in a different portion of the display.

21. The improvement claimed in claim 17, wherein the processor responds to the operator using the input device to select a portion of one of the display formats by updating the A-Scan using the ultrasonic test data related to the operator'"'"'s selection.

22. The improvement claimed in claim 17, wherein one of said formats comprises a pulse echo, and the processor responds to the operator using the input device to select a location in the pulse echo format by causing a horizontal and a vertical cross hair to be placed on the pulse echo format at the selected location.

23. The improvement claimed in claim 17, wherein the processor causes the display to produce a vertical B-Scan format using the ultrasonic test data related to the location of the vertical cross hair and a horizontal B-Scan format using the ultrasonic test data related to the location of the horizontal cross hair, the simultaneous display of said vertical B-Scan format and said horizontal B-Scan format, thereby presenting to the operator a view along three different dimensions of ultrasonic test data taken from the area surrounding a point in a test part, said view being manipulated in a unitary manner by reference to said vertical B-Scan format and said horizontal B-Scan format.

24. The improvement claimed in claim 17, wherein the processor responds to the operator using the input device to select a location in one of the formats by causing the display to display the ultrasonic test data related to the selected location as an A-Scan.

25. The improvement claimed in claim 17, wherein the processor responds to the operator using the input device to select two locations in one of the formats by calculating the distance between the locations on the test part related to the two locations selected by the operator and by causing the display to display said distance.

26. The system of claim 17, wherein said processor responds to the operator using said input device to select two locations in one of said at least two formats by determining the locations on the test part related to said two locations selected by the operator and by causing said display to update said other format by filtering out test data that does not correspond to locations on the test part between the two locations on the test part.

27. The improvement claimed in claim 17, wherein said display displays the ultrasonic test data in an A-Scan format, said processor responds to an operator using said input device to select at least one location on said A-Scan format, wherein said location corresponds to an amplitude of ultrasonic energy, and said processor filters out ultrasonic test data outside of said amplitude of ultrasonic energy, said processor causing a second display portion to display said filtered ultrasonic test data.

28. The improvement claimed in claim 17, wherein said display simultaneously displays the ultrasonic test data in pulse echo and time of flight formats, each in a different portion of the display, the input device allows the operator to select a portion of either of said formats, and the processor causes the display to display an enlarged view of the selected portion in both of said display formats.

29. The system of claim 17, wherein the processor responds to the operator using the input device to select two locations in one of the formats by determine the locations on the test part related to the two locations selected by the operator and by causing said display to update said other format by filtering out test data related to test part locations that do not fill within the two selected locations on the test part.

30. The improvement claimed in claim 17, wherein the display simultaneously displays the ultrasonic test data in a first B-Scan format along one axis of the test part in one portion of the display and displays the ultrasonic test data in a second B-Scan format along a second axis of the test part in a second portion of the display, wherein said processor responds to the operator using said input device to select a location on either one of said B-Scan formats, thereby presenting to the operator a view along three different dimensions of ultrasonic test data taken from the area surrounding a point in a test part.

31. The improvement claimed in claim 30, wherein the display simultaneously displays the ultrasonic test data in a A-Scan, a pulse echo and a time of flight format.

32. A method of analyzing and displaying ultrasonic test data obtained from a test part comprising the steps of:

(a) storing the ultrasonic test data in a storage device;

(b) simultaneously displaying the ultrasonic test data in at least two formats selected from the group consisting of an A-Scan, a pulse echo, a B-Scan, and a time of flight format;

(c) determining a portion of the displayed ultrasonic test data indicative of a characteristic of the test part;

d) selecting a location on one of said at least two formats, said location corresponding to the portion of the displayed ultrasonic test data indicative of a characteristic of the test part;

e) determining the ultrasonic test data related to the selected location;

f) filtering out portions of the ultrasonic test data based on a combination of said determined ultrasonic test data and the other of said at least two formats; and

g) updating the other of said at least two formats using the ultrasonic data that have not been filtered out.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the displaying step comprises displaying the ultrasonic test data in an A-Scan format and at least two formats selected from the group consisting of pulse echo, B-Scan, and a time of flight.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the displaying step comprises displaying the ultrasonic test data in a first B-Scan format along a first axis of the test part passing through the selected location and in a second B-Scan format along a second axis of the test part passing through the selected location.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein the displaying step comprises displaying the ultrasonic test data in pulse echo format and the selecting step comprises selecting a location in the pulse echo, and wherein the method further comprises the steps of displaying a horizontal cross hair and a vertical cross hair on the pulse echo at the selected location and displaying a vertical B-Scan based on ultrasonic test data along the vertical cross hair and a horizontal B-Scan based on ultrasonic test data along the horizontal cross hair.

36. The program of claim 32, wherein the selecting step further comprises selecting two locations on one of the formats and the method includes the further steps of determining the distance between the locations on the test part related to the two selected locations.

37. The method of claim 32, wherein the displaying step further comprises displaying the ultrasonic test data in at least one of a pulse echo and a time of flight format and the selection step further comprises selecting a portion of said pulse echo or time of flight format and the method includes the further steps of displaying an enlarged view of the selected portion of the selected format.

38. A system for analyzing and displaying ultrasonic test data produced by an ultrasonic test apparatus for a test part, the system comprising:

(a) a display for displaying ultrasonic test data in a format selected from the group consisting of an A-Scan, a B-Scan, a pulse echo, and a time of flight format;

(b) an input device responsive to an operator'"'"'s input for selecting two locations on said display, and

(c) control means coupled to said display and said input device, wherein said control means calculates the distance between the locations on the test part related to the two selected locations on said display.

39. In a computer system including a display, an input device responsive to an operator'"'"'s input, a processor for controlling the display, memory means for storing ultrasonic test data obtained from a test part, and programs for controlling the processor, the improvement comprising a user interface program for analyzing and displaying said ultrasonic test data obtained from a test part, said use interface program controlling said processor such that:

(a) said display displays the ultrasonic test data in a format selected from the group consisting of an A-Scan, a pulse echo, a B-Scan, and a time of flight format; and

(b) said processor responds to the operator using the input device to select two locations on the display by calculating the distance between the locations on the test part related to the two locations selected by the operator.

40. A method of analyzing and displaying ultrasonic test data obtained from a test part comprising the steps of:

(a) storing the ultrasonic test data in a storage device;

(b) displaying the ultrasonic test data in a format selected from the group consisting of an A-Scan, a pulse echo, a B-Scan, and a time of flight format;

(c) selecting two locations on the display; and

(d) determining the distance between the locations on the test part related to said two selected locations.