Adaptive grating lobe suppression in ultrasound imaging

• US 7,887,486 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2007
• Issued: 02/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Gee, Albert, Ustuner, Kutay F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Casler; Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Roy; Baisakhi
• Application Number:
  US11/724,526
• Publication Number:
  US 20070173722A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,434 Days
• Field of Search: 600/437, 600/443, 600/447, 600455-456, 600/458, 736/25, 736/26
• US Class Current: 600/443
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5269 involving detection or reduction of artifacts for image enhancement algorithms G06T5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52047 for elimination of side lobes or of grating lobes; for increasing resolving power
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/346 using phase variation

Abstract

Adaptive grating lobe suppression is provided. Received ultrasound data is measured, compared or otherwise processed to determine the presence of grating lobe energy. A further process is then altered as a function of the level of grating lobe energy. In one embodiment, the adaptive grating lobe suppression is implemented in the receive beamformer. Data representing a virtual element is formed as a normalized sum of data from adjacent sparse elements. The data from the adjacent elements is correlated to determine the presence of grating lobe energy as a function of the amount of shift associated with the peak correlation. A phase shift is applied to the data representing the virtual element where sufficient grating lobe energy is determined. In another embodiment, an amount of grating lobe energy is measured by comparing data from prior to a filter with filtered data. The filter is selected to isolate main lobe energy from grating lobe energy. A gain is modulated as a function of any detected grating lobe energy or filtered or unfiltered data is selected for further processing.

Claims

1. A method for adaptive grating lobe suppression in ultrasound processing, the method comprising:

(a) acquiring ultrasound data;

(b) determining a grating lobe level as a function of the ultrasound data; and

(c) altering processing in response to the grating lobe level, further wherein (b) comprises determining similarity of signals from two different transducer elements and (c) comprises altering a phase of a sum of the signals from the two different transducer elements, the altering being a function of an amount of correlation.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein (b) comprises determining whether a peak correlation occurs closer to no shift between the signals from the two different transducer elements than a period shift between the signals from the two different transducer elements, the no shift and period shift being for the signals after application of any beamforming delays.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein (c) comprises selecting one of:

shifting the sum by 180 degrees and applying no shift as a function of the amount of correlation.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein (c) comprises multiplying by negative one when the amount of correlation indicates energy from a grating lobe and multiplying by positive one when the amount of correlation indicates energy from a main lobe.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein (a) comprises acquiring the ultrasound data after application of beamforming delays and prior to channel summation, the ultrasound data being channel data.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein (a) comprises acquiring the ultrasound data from a sparse spacing of the two different transducer elements;

further comprising;

(d) forming a virtual element signal as the sum; and

(e) beamforming with the acquired ultrasound data and the virtual element signal.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein (b) comprises determining similarity of signals from two different transducer elements and (c) comprises setting a gain for one of the two different transducer elements as a function of the similarity.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein (c) comprises setting the gain to zero for high grating lobe content.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein (c) comprises setting the gain for both of the two different transducer elements as a function of the similarity.

10. A system for adaptive grating lobe suppression in ultrasound processing, the system comprising:

an ultrasound transducer; and

a processor connected with the ultrasound transducer, the processor operable to determine a level of grating lobe clutter in ultrasound data from the ultrasound transducer and operable to alter processing in response to the level of grating lobe clutter, further

wherein the ultrasound transducer comprises a sparsely sampled array of elements; and

wherein the processor is operable to correlate signals from two different transducer elements and altering a phase of a sum of the signals from the two different transducer elements, the altering being a function of an amount of correlation.