Medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging methods for extended field of view

• US 6,364,835 B1
• Filed: 03/27/2000
• Issued: 04/02/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Acuson Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Pang, Linyong, Ustuner, Kutay F., Bradley, Charles E., Sumanaweera, Thilaka S., Hossack, John A., Allison, John W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jaworski, Francis J.
• Application Number:
  US09/536,215
• Time in Patent Office: 736 Days
• Field of Search: 600/437, 600/443, 600/447, 128/916
• 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 8/12 in body cavities or body tracts, e.g. by using catheters catheters per se A61M25/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/13 Tomography A61B8/10, A61B8/12 take precedence; tomography for radiation diagnosis A61B6/02
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8927 using simultaneously or sequentially two or more subarrays or subapertures
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8979 Combined Doppler and pulse-echo imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52034 Data rate converters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/5205 Means for monitoring or calibrating
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/5206 Two-dimensional coordinated display of distance and direction; B-scan display
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52065 Compound scan display, e.g. panoramic imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52071 Multicolour displays; using colour coding; Optimising colour or information content in displays, e.g. parametric imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52074 Composite displays, e.g. split-screen displays; Combination of multiple images or of images and alphanumeric tabular information
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52085 Details related to the ultrasound signal acquisition, e.g. scan sequences control of medical diagnostic ultrasound devices A61B8/54
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10132 Ultrasound image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30004 Biomedical image processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30101 Blood vessel; Artery; Vein; Vascular
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/147 using affine transformations
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/32 using correlation-based methods

Abstract

A medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging system aligns substantially co-planar two-dimensional images to form an extended field of view using improved compounding methods. Compounding with a finite impulse response is used for more versatile compositing. The compounding is adaptive, such as through adapting the image regions, weighting, or type of compounding as a function of correlation, location within the image, estimated motion or combinations thereof. A user warning is provided as a function of the correlation between images.

Claims

1. A medical diagnostic ultrasound method for forming an extended field of view of a target, the method comprising the acts of:

(a) selecting first and second medical ultrasonic images, the first and second images partially overlapping;

(b) compounding the first image with the second image in an overlapping region in response to a finite impulse response function; and

(c) generating an extended field of view image responsive to (b);

wherein at least a portion of the extended field of view image corresponding to the overlapping region is free of recursive compounding.

3. The method of claims 1 or 2 wherein (b) comprises alpha blending.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein (b) comprises using OpenGL commands.

5. The method of claims 1 or 2 wherein (b) comprises averaging.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein (b) comprises averaging with non-uniform weights.

7. The method of claims 1 or 2 wherein (b) comprises applying weights to the images, the weights larger for portions of the images spaced from the center than for center portions.

8. The method of claims 1 or 2 wherein (b) comprises compounding side portions of the images without compounding center portions.

9. The method of claims 1 or 2 wherein (a) comprises selecting images responsive to different frequencies.

11. The method of claims 1 or 10 further comprising:

(d) signal processing the compounded information prior to (c);

wherein the extended field of view image is responsive to the signal processing.

12. The method of claims 1 or 2 wherein (b) is adaptive as a function of correlation.

13. The method of claims 1 or 2 further comprising compensating for scanning rate error.

25. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein the first and second images comprise coherently adjacent line data.

2. A medical diagnostic ultrasound method for forming an extended field of view of a target, the method comprising the acts of:

(a) selecting at least three medical ultrasonic images, the first and second images partially overlapping; and

(b) compounding the at least three images in an overlapping region in response to a finite impulse response function.

10. The method of claims 2 further comprising:

(c) generating an extended field of view image responsive to (b).

14. A medical diagnostic ultrasound method for forming an extended field of view of a target, the method comprising the acts of:

(a) selecting first and second medical ultrasonic images, the first and second images partially overlapping; and

(b) alpha blending the first image with the second image in an overlapping region.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein (b) comprises using OpenGL commands.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

(c) performing (b) with an OpenGL accelerator.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein (b) comprises blending image data as a function of an alpha value.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

(c) blending alpha values for each frame of image data; and

(d) dividing the blended image data of (b) with the blended alpha values of (c).

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

(e) multiplying the output of (d) by a value.

20. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

(c) using a sub-set of bits comprising image data for (b), the sub-set comprising higher bits.

21. The method of claim 14 wherein (a) comprises selecting images as a function of an estimate of motion.

22. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

(c) masking the first and second images;

wherein (b) is responsive to the masked first and second images.

23. The method of claim 22 further comprising:

(d) applying a different mask to the first image than to the second image.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein (d) comprises varying the mask as a function of a image position within an extended field of view image. frame rate.

27. The method of claim 14 further comprising providing a plurality of user selectable applications wherein (b) is responsive to user selection of one of the selectable applications.

26. A medical diagnostic ultrasound method for forming an extended field of view of a target, the method comprising the acts of:

(a) selecting first and second medical ultrasonic images, the first and second images partially overlapping and comprising coherently adjacent line data;

(b) compounding the first image with the second image in an overlapping region; and

(c) generating an extended field of view image responsive to (b).