Ultrasound imaging system

• US 6,325,759 B1
• Filed: 09/23/1999
• Issued: 12/04/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: BK Medical Holding Company, Inc. (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Ultrasonix Medical Corporation (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pelissier, Laurent
• Primary Examiner(s): Jaworski, Francis J.
• Application Number:
  US09/401,923
• Time in Patent Office: 803 Days
• Field of Search: 600/437, 600/440-441, 600/443, 600/447, 128/916, 367/7, 367/11, 367/103-105, 73/625-626
• US Class Current: 600/443
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/06 Measuring blood flow measuring volume flow in general G01F, e.g. G01F1/66, G01F1/72; measuring speed of fluids in general G01P5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/13 Tomography A61B8/10, A61B8/12 take precedence; tomography for radiation diagnosis A61B6/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/488 involving Doppler signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/565 involving data transmission via a network
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8979 Combined Doppler and pulse-echo imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52028 using digital techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52034 Data rate converters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52044 Scan converters

Abstract

An ultrasound imaging system includes a transducer, an ultrasound module, and a computer. The ultrasound module provides signal pre-processing and is highly programmable. The ultrasound module has several independently programmable functional units. The computer performs real-time scan conversion, display, data collection, user interface and input and output data exchange. The operational mode of the ultrasound module can be set under software control from the computer. The ultrasound imaging system is versatile, software-unreadable, and can perform a wide range of imaging applications in real-time. Several ultrasound imaging systems can be integrated as clients in a network of ultrasound devices having a client/server architecture for archiving, reporting and remote-control purposes.

Claims

1. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system comprising:

a. a computer adapted to run various programs for controlling the imaging system;

b. a signal pre-processing module operatively connected to the computer, said pre-processing module being adapted to be operatively coupled to an ultrasound transducer, said signal pre-processing module being configurable for different ultrasound operational modes for transducer driving signals and/or for processing echo signals into data vectors;

c. said computer being programmed for configuring said signal pre-processing module including providing configuration data and specified rayline parameters to said signal pre-processing module for each operational mode.

2. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 1 including a visual display operatively connected to said computer, and a display and scan conversion algorithm implemented in software running on said computer for displaying an ultrasound image in real time.

3. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 2 wherein the computer uses multitasking software to produce a real time display of an ultrasonic image.

4. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said signal pre-processing module includes a transmitting section, a receiving section and a pre-processing section,

said transmitting section being configurable by the computer to provide different types of driving signals for the creation of different types of ultrasound wave forms;

said receiving section being configurable by the computer to beam-form the echo signal in different operational modes; and

said pre-processing section being configurable by the computer to provide radio frequency (RF) ultrasound signal pre-processing in accordance with RF ultrasound signal pre-processing parameters supplied by the computer.

5. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 4 wherein said RF ultrasound signal pre-processing within said pre-processing section includes a RF calculator to convert the RF ultrasound signal into formatted data.

6. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 5 wherein said RF calculator operates in real time and outputs formatted data at a rate which is lower or equal to the RF ultrasound signal sampling rate.

7. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 6 wherein said pre-processing section of said signal pre-processing module includes a data signal pre-processor for further processing formatted data.

8. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 4 wherein the pre-processing section of said signal pre-processing module includes a data signal pre-processor.

9. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 4 wherein the computer is operatively connected to an interface for transmitting rayline parameters to the signal pre-processing module.

10. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 9 wherein rayline parameters are sequentially propagated and stored in the transmitting section, receiving section and pre-processing section of said signal pre-processing module.

11. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 4 wherein the computer includes an interface for storing and sequentially transmitting rayline parameters to the transmitting section, receiving section, and pre-processing section.

12. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 4 wherein each of said transmitting section, receiving section and pre-processing section includes a memory for storing data written into said memory by said computer.

13. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 4 wherein the receiving section includes a beam-former, said beam-former comprising a programmable summing circuit, programmable delay lines, and at least two programmable filters.

14. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 4 wherein the computer generates rayline parameters which are propagated to the signal pre-processing module for determining the manner in which transducer driving signals and echo signals are processed within a particular mode of operation, said rayline parameters including rayline transmitting parameters for the transmitting section, rayline receiving parameters for the receiving section, and rayline pre-processing parameters for the pre-processing section.

15. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 4 wherein the transmitting section, receiving section and pre-processing section of said signal pre-processing module include field programmable data array (FPGA) registers.

16. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 4 wherein the pre-processing section executes different pre-processing algorithms for different raylines and wherein said pre-processing algorithm is chosen according to said rayline parameters.

17. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said signal pre-processing module includes a pre-processing section, said pre-processing section including an echo level pre-processing unit for providing a detected echo level for a number of discrete points along a rayline and a digital signal pre-processing unit for calculating various data vector estimation functions of the ultrasound imaging system, said echo level pre-processing unit and said digital signal pre-processing unit being configurable by the computer for different modes of operation.

18. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the computer is a general purpose computer.

19. A software configurable ultrasound imaging system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the computer generates rayline parameters which are propagated to the signal pre-processing module for determining the manner in which transducer driving signals and echo signals are processed within a particular mode of operation.