Synthetically focused ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system for tissue and flow imaging
First Claim
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1. A synthetic focus ultrasound system comprising:
- an array of transducer elements;
a transmitter coupled to the transducer which acts to produce transmit events by the transmission from an individual element or group of elements over the full image field;
a receiver coupled to the transducer which receives echo signals from elements of the array in response to a transmit event;
a plurality of delay sets used to produce from the echo signals a plurality of motion maps of discrete motion characteristics for points in the image field;
a detector;
a motion analyzer, responsive to the motion maps, which selects one or more motion maps for the production of an ultrasound image; and
a display which displays the ultrasound image.
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Abstract
A synthetic focus ultrasound system is described in which individual transducer elements are activated to insonify the image field and the resultant echoes are received by a plurality of elements of the array. The echo signals are stored and the complete echo set is used to produce motion maps for different velocity vectors over the image field. Various ones of the motion maps are used to produce a wide variety of ultrasound image modes, including grey-scale images, colorflow images, and spectral flow displays.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A synthetic focus ultrasound system comprising:
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an array of transducer elements;
a transmitter coupled to the transducer which acts to produce transmit events by the transmission from an individual element or group of elements over the full image field;
a receiver coupled to the transducer which receives echo signals from elements of the array in response to a transmit event;
a plurality of delay sets used to produce from the echo signals a plurality of motion maps of discrete motion characteristics for points in the image field;
a detector;
a motion analyzer, responsive to the motion maps, which selects one or more motion maps for the production of an ultrasound image; and
a display which displays the ultrasound image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for synthetic focusing ultrasonic imaging using an array transducer comprising:
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transmitting an unfocused and unsteered ultrasound wave from an element of the array which insonifies an image field;
receiving echo signals at a plurality of elements of the array designated to receive echo signals in response to the transmission;
repeating the transmitting and receiving for a plurality of elements predetermined for transmitting;
processing the received echo signals to reveal a motional characteristic of objects in the image field; and
displaying an ultrasound image which illustrates the motional characteristic. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification