Medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging methods for extended field of view

• US 6,554,770 B1
• Filed: 08/25/2000
• Issued: 04/29/2003
• 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: Sumanaweera, Thilaka S., Allison, John W., Maslak, Samuel H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jaworski, Francis J.
• Application Number:
  US09/648,214
• Time in Patent Office: 977 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 8/0833 involving detecting or locating foreign bodies or organic structures
• 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: A61B 8/488 involving Doppler signals
• 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: G01S 15/8945 using transducers mounted for linear mechanical movement
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8979 Combined Doppler and pulse-echo imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8993 Three dimensional imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8995 Combining images from different aspect angles, e.g. spatial compounding
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52026 Extracting wanted echo signals Doppler systems G01S15/50; Doppler short range imaging systems G01S15/8979
• 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 7/52085 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 2207/30101 Blood vessel; Artery; Vein; Vascular
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/147 using affine transformations
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4038 : Image mosaicing, e.g. composing plane images from plane sub-images
• 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. Using variations in characteristics for each component frame or sub-set of data, the extended field of view image is enhanced. For example, the steering angle or acquisition frequency associated with each component image is different.

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 in response to first and second transducer positions and each of the first and second medical ultrasonic images associated with multiple steering angles;

(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).

2. The method of claim 1 wherein (b) comprises compounding as a function of a finite impulse response.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second medical ultrasonic images are characterized by different frequencies.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the first medical diagnostic image is associated with at least two different frequencies.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

(d) acquiring the first and second images as a function of line or group of line interleaving.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein (b) comprises alpha blending with open GL.

6. 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 in response to first and second transducer positions and each of the first and second medical ultrasonic images associated with at least one different steering angle;

(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).

7. The method of claim 6 wherein (b) comprises compounding as a function of a finite impulse response.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the first and second medical ultrasonic images are characterized by different frequencies.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein the first medical diagnostic image is associated with at least two different frequencies.

10. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

(d) acquiring the first and second medical ultrasonic images as a function of line or group of line interleaving.

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

(a) compounding first and second medical ultrasonic images associated with a substantially same region and different frequencies;

(b) selecting a compounded medical ultrasonic image responsive to (a) and at least a third medical ultrasonic image, the compounded medical ultrasonic and the at least third medical ultrasonic images partially overlapping;

(c) compounding the compounding medical ultrasonic image with the third image in an overlapping region; and

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

12. The method of claim 11 wherein (c) comprises compounding as a function of a finite impulse response.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising acquiring the first, second and third medical ultrasonic images with line or group of line interleaving.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein (c) comprises alpha blending with open GL.