Method and apparatus for automatic vessel tracking in ultrasound systems

• US 6,423,006 B1
• Filed: 01/21/2000
• Issued: 07/23/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Banjanin, Zoran
• Primary Examiner(s): Lateef, Marvin M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jain, Ruby
• Application Number:
  US09/489,575
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• Field of Search: 600/453-456, 600/440-447, 367/103, 736/33, 342/84, 342/62
• US Class Current: 600/453
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/489 Blood vessels
• 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 8/463 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: G01S 15/18 wherein range gates are used
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8979 Combined Doppler and pulse-echo imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52066 Time-position or time-motion displays
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52069 Grey-scale displays

Abstract

A method for automatically placing a range gate over a moving blood vessel during ultrasound imaging. Doppler data received from a number of depths in the tissue is analyzed in order to calculate the average velocity of the tissue at each depth. A search is performed in the average velocities to select a maximum velocity. The maximum velocity is associated with a blood vessel and a range gate is placed at a depth corresponding to the maximum velocity. In a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the average velocity is calculated by performing a first lag autocorrelation of the echo data received from each depth in response to a series of Doppler pulses.

Claims

1. A method of tracking a vessel in an ultrasound imaging system, comprising:

transmitting a series of Doppler ultrasound pulses into a tissue sample;

receiving echo signals from a number of depths in the tissue sample;

analyzing the echo signals to determine the average velocity of the tissue at each of the number of depths;

determining with a processor a first depth of the number of depths in the tissue sample having the highest average velocity;

determining with a processor a second depth of the number of depths in the tissue sample having a minimum amplitude signal; and

positioning a range gate as a function of the first and second depths.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the series of Doppler ultrasound pulses are alternately transmitted with B-mode imaging pulses.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the echo signals are analyzed by calculating a first lag autocorrelation on echo signals received from the same depth in response to the series of Doppler pulses.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the range gate is positioned at a depth having the minimum amplitude echo signal and the highest average velocity.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second depth is determined in response to the B-mode imaging pulses from a systole phase of a cardiac cycle.

6. An ultrasound imaging system comprising:

an ultrasound transducer that transmits a series of ultrasound pulses into a tissue sample, and receives echo signals from the tissue sample in response to the series of ultrasound pulses;

a beamformer that focuses the received echo signals;

a B-mode processor that analyzes the focused echo signals to produce a B-mode image;

a Doppler mode processor that analyzes the echo signals to produce a Doppler image; and

a first processor that receives the echo signals and calculates an average velocity at a number of depths, the first processor determining a first depth of tissue having the highest average velocity;

determining a second depth in the tissue sample having a minimum B-mode signal and instructing a processor in the ultrasound system to position a range gate as a function of the second depth and the first depth.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the first processor operates in the background of the B-mode and Doppler processors.

8. A method of tracking a vessel in an ultrasound imaging system, comprising:

transmitting a series of Doppler ultrasound pulses into a tissue sample;

receiving echo signals along a number of receive beam lines and at a number of adjacent depths for each receive beam line in response to the series of Doppler ultrasound pluses transmitted;

analyzing the echo signals on each of the number of beam lines to determine the average velocity of the tissue at each of the number of adjacent depths; and

positioning a range gate along the beam line at a depth having the highest average velocity.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the number of beam lines lie in the same two dimensional plane.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the number of beam lines lie in different planes in three dimensional space.