Method and apparatus for improved spatial and temporal resolution in ultrasound imaging

• US 6,537,217 B1
• Filed: 08/24/2001
• Issued: 03/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Olstad, Bjórn, Bjærum, Steinar, Kirkhorn, Johan, Kristoffersen, Kjell, Torp, Hans Garmann, Viggen, Kjetil, Steen, Erik N., Saetre, Dagfinn
• Primary Examiner(s): Jaworski, Francis J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): JUNG, WILLIAM C
• Application Number:
  US09/682,358
• Publication Number:
  US 20030045795A1
• Time in Patent Office: 578 Days
• Field of Search: 600/437-472
• US Class Current: 600/441
• 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 7/52063 Sector scan display
• 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

Abstract

A method is provided to simultaneously acquire two ultrasound images. A first set of ultrasound pulses are transmitted at a first frame rate utilizing a first mode of operation. The echoes from the first set of ultrasound pulses are received. A second set of ultrasound pulses are transmitted at a second frame rate utilizing a second mode of operation. The first and second frame rates are different. The first set of ultrasound pulses defines an entire image, while the second set of ultrasound pulses defines a partial image. The echoes from the second set of ultrasound pulses are received, and the echoes from the first and second sets of ultrasound pulses are displayed as a single image.

Claims

1. A method for obtaining diagnostic ultrasound images, the method comprising:

transmitting a first set of ultrasound pulses at a first frame rate in accordance with a first mode of operation;

receiving echoes from the first set of ultrasound pulses;

transmitting a second set of ultrasound pulses at a second frame rate in accordance with a second mode of operation, said first frame rate differing from said second frame rate;

receiving echoes from the second set of ultrasound pulses; and

displaying a single image representative of echoes received from both of said first and second sets of ultrasound pulses.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of ultrasound pulses is transmitted at a higher frame rate than the second set of ultrasound pulses.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of ultrasound pulses defines a Doppler image, and the second set of ultrasound pulses defines a B-mode image, said displaying step overlaying said Doppler and B-mode images.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting steps include obtaining a single Doppler image frame from the first set of ultrasound pulses and obtaining first and second portions of a single B-mode image frame before and after respectively obtaining the complete Doppler image frame.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of ultrasound pulses defines a high resolution portion of a B-mode image, and the second set of ultrasound pulses defines a low resolution portion of a B-mode image, said high and low resolution portions forming said single image that is displayed.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the echoes from the second set of ultrasound pulses define a partial image and the echoes from the first set of ultrasound pulses define an entire image, said displaying step overlaying the partial and entire images.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of ultrasound pulses defines a high resolution image, and the second set of ultrasound pulses defines a low resolution image.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a series of uninterrupted, successive pulses in a common direction relative to an area being scanned;

detecting a series of echoes from the series of uninterrupted, successive pulses; and

calculating a portion of a Doppler image from the series of echoes, said portion of the Doppler image corresponding to the common direction.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of ultrasound pulses is interleaved with the second set of ultrasound pulses.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the first set of ultrasound pulses further comprises:

transmitting at least one ultrasound pulse in a first direction corresponding to a first portion of the single image;

transmitting an ultrasound pulse in a second direction corresponding to a second portion of the single image;

transmitting a second ultrasound pulse in said first direction; and

transmitting a second ultrasound pulse in said second direction.

11. A method for obtaining ultrasound images of an area of interest, the method comprising:

transmitting a set of Doppler pulses in accordance with a Doppler mode of operation;

receiving Doppler echoes from the set of Doppler pulses;

after receiving the Doppler echoes, transmitting a set of non-Doppler pulses in accordance with another mode of operation differing from the Doppler mode of operation, wherein said set of non-Doppler pulses corresponds to a sub-region of a displayed image;

receiving non-Doppler echoes from the set of non-Doppler pulses; and

displaying images based on the Doppler and non-Doppler echoes from the Doppler and non-Doppler pulses.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said transmitting step includes transmitting a first packet of successive pulses directed in a first direction relative to an area of interest followed by a second packet of successive pulses directed in a second direction relative to an area of interest.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said transmitting step further comprises transmitting one pulse of a first packet of pulses in a first direction relative to an area of interest followed by transmitting one pulse of a second packet of pulses in a second direction relative to an area of interest followed by transmitting a second pulse of said first packet of pulses in said first direction.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

transmitting at least one Doppler pulse corresponding to a first sub-region of an image; and

immediately receiving echoes from the Doppler pulse, transmitting at least one Doppler pulse corresponding to a second sub-region of the image.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein said transmitting step further comprises:

transmitting a first packet of successive Doppler pulses directed in a first direction relative to an area of interest; and

after receiving the echoes from a subset of said set of non-Doppler pulses, transmitting a second packet of successive Doppler pulses in a second direction relative to an area of interest.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the second transmitting step includes transmitting at least one non-Doppler pulse corresponding to a sub-region of an image, and wherein the echoes from the non-Doppler pulses form a partial image.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the set of Doppler pulses defines N frames of Doppler images and the set of non-Doppler pulses defines M frames of non-Doppler images, and wherein M is less than N.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the transmit and receive steps form a scan sequence divided into scan intervals, each Doppler and non-Doppler pulse being transmitted and received in a unique, non-overlapping scan interval, further comprising:

suspending the transmitting and receiving steps during at least one scan interval in a sequence of scan intervals, in which non-Doppler pulses are being transmitted and received.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the transmit and receive steps form a scan sequence divided into scan intervals, wherein a subset of non-Doppler pulses is transmitted and received during each scan interval, further comprising:

transmitting in a first scan interval at least one non-Doppler pulse associated with a first sub-region of a non-Doppler image; and

transmitting in a second scan interval at least one non-Doppler pulse associated with a second sub-region of a non-Doppler image.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein said transmitting and receiving steps form a scan sequence divided into scan intervals of equal duration.

21. The method of claim 11, wherein said transmitting a set of non-Doppler pulses includes transmitting at least one non-Doppler pulse corresponding to a sub-region of the image, wherein the received Doppler echoes form a complete image, and wherein the received non-Doppler echoes form a partial image.

22. The method of claim 11, wherein said image based on the received Doppler echoes is calculated by utilizing a sliding window technique.

23. The method of claim 11, wherein said image based on the received echoes from the Doppler pulses is comprised of a number of transmit directions, and wherein the first transmitting step further comprises:

transmitting one Doppler pulse in each said transmit direction.

24. The method of claim 11, wherein the Doppler and non-Doppler pulses are transmitted at a predefined pulse repetition time, further comprising the step of pausing during the transmitting steps by a duration greater than the pulse repetition time.