Contrast-agent enhanced color-flow imaging

• US 6,969,353 B2
• Filed: 08/05/2003
• Issued: 11/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Perry, Jodi L.T., Rafter, Patrick G., Poland, McKee Dunn, Brock-Fisher, George A.
• Primary Examiner(s): IMAM, ALI M
• Application Number:
  US10/634,366
• Publication Number:
  US 20040030253A1
• Time in Patent Office: 847 Days
• Field of Search: 600/437, 600/441, 600442-472, 128/916, 367/7, 367/11, 367/130
• US Class Current: 600/458
• 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 8/481 involving the use of contrast agent, e.g. microbubbles introduced into the bloodstream analysis of echo signal exploiting properties of a contrast enhancer in devices for short-range imaging with acoustic waves G01S7/52039
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/102 using transmission of pulses having some particular characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8981 Discriminating between fixed and moving objects or between objects moving at different speeds, e.g. wall clutter filter
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52038 involving non-linear properties of the propagation medium or of the reflective target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52039 exploiting the non-linear response of a contrast enhancer, e.g. a contrast agent diagnostic techniques involving the use of contrast agents A61B8/481

Abstract

Systems and methods for enhanced color-flow imaging of contrast-agent perfused blood vessels and other tissues within a patient'"'"'s body are disclosed. The method generally comprises, introducing one or more contrast agents into the body, power-modulating transmit pulses into the body, receiving echoes from the body, processing the received echoes to reduce tissue-generated echoes and echoes from stationary contrast agent, using a color-flow processor to generate a color-encoded display responsive to contrast-agent motion. The method may be implemented by a system with a an excitation-signal source, a transducer, an ultrasound-processing system having multiple image processors including a color-flow processor, as well as, a clutter filter, and an arbiter, and a display-processing system.

Claims

1. An ultrasound-imaging system, comprising:

means for reducing tissue-generated ultrasonic echo signals;

means for reducing stationary contrast-agent generated ultrasonic-echo signals; and

means for imaging moving contrast-agent generated ultrasonic-echo signals.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein reducing tissue-generated ultrasonic echo signals comprises a power-modulation technique that uses multiple-transmit line subpackets.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein imaging comprises applying the moving contrast-agent generated ultrasonic-echo signals to a color-flow processor.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein reducing stationary contrast-agent generated ultrasonic-echo signals comprises applying a first clutter filter.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the power-modulation technique comprises repetitively firing the multiple-transmit line subpackets.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the color-flow processor generates information responsive to the direction and the rate of motion of moving contrast agent.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the first clutter filter comprises a one-zero filter.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the one-zero filter is time-shifted filter over multiple samples generated from a plurality of ultrasonic-echo signals.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

means for determining tissue velocity, and

means for combining the tissue velocity with the information responsive to the direction and the rate of motion of moving-contrast agent.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein determining tissue velocity comprises applying the received ultrasonic-echo signals to a second clutter filter prior to the means for reducing tissue-generated ultrasonic-echo signals.