Method and apparatus to produce ultrasonic images using multiple apertures

• US 8,007,439 B2
• Filed: 10/01/2007
• Issued: 08/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maui Imaging, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Maui Imaging, Inc.
• Inventors: Specht, Donald F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cattungal; Sanjay
• Application Number:
  US11/865,501
• Publication Number:
  US 20080103393A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,429 Days
• Field of Search: 600437-463, 382128-132
• US Class Current: 600/459
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/725 using specific filters therefor, e.g. Kalman or adaptive filters A61B5/316 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/08 Detecting organic movements or changes, e.g. tumours, cysts, swellings A61B8/02 - A61B8/06 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/085 for locating body or organic structures, e.g. tumours, calculi, blood vessels, nodules
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/145 characterised by scanning multiple planes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/42 Details of probe positioning or probe attachment to the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4209 by using holders, e.g. positioning frames
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4218 characterised by articulated arms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4245 involving determining the position of the probe, e.g. with respect to an external reference frame or to the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4281 characterised by sound-transmitting media or devices for coupling the transducer to the tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4455 Features of the external shape of the probe, e.g. ergonomic aspects
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4483 characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4494 characterised by the arrangement of the transducer elements devices for short-range imaging using particular transducer elements arrangements under G01S15/8909; arrangements of transducers in generation of mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic or ultrasonic frequency B06B1/0607
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/483 involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5207 involving processing of raw data to produce diagnostic data, e.g. for generating an image reconstruction G06T11/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5253 combining overlapping images, e.g. spatial compounding
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/543 involving acquisition triggered by a physiological signal
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8977 using special techniques for image reconstruction, e.g. FFT, geometrical transformations, spatial deconvolution, time deconvolution
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52046 Techniques for image enhancement involving transmitter or receiver image enhancement by image data processing G06T5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/5205 Means for monitoring or calibrating

Abstract

A combination of an ultrasonic scanner and an omnidirectional receive transducer for producing a two-dimensional image from the echoes received by the single omnidirectional transducer is described. Two-dimensional images with different noise components can be constructed from the echoes received by additional transducers. These can be combined to produce images with better signal to noise ratios and lateral resolution. Also disclosed is a method based on information content to compensate for the different delays for different paths through intervening tissue is described. Specular reflections are attenuated by using even a single omnidirectional receiver displaced from the insonifying probe. The disclosed techniques have broad application in medical imaging but are ideally suited to multi-aperture cardiac imaging using two or more intercostal spaces. Since lateral resolution is determined primarily by the aperture defined by the end elements, it is not necessary to fill the entire aperture with equally spaced elements. In fact, gaps can be left to accommodate spanning a patient'"'"'s ribs, or simply to reduce the cost of the large aperture array. Multiple slices using these methods can be combined to form three-dimensional images.

Claims

1. An ultrasound imaging system, comprising:

a transmit transducer array for insonifying selected object and/or area of living tissue with a directional ultrasound pulse;

at least one receive transducer for detecting and recording ultrasound echo returns, wherein said at least one receive transducer is relatively non-directional in a plane of scan, is angled differently from said transmit transducer array, and is separated from said transmit transducer array;

a computer in electronic communication with said transmit transducer array and said at least one receive transducer, said computer having hardware and software for digitizing and storing each ultrasound echo in a line of computer memory, determining the location of said transmit transducer in relation to said at least one receive transducer, reconstructing scan lines as lines on a reconstructed image based on the determination of the location of the at least one receive transducer relative to that of the transmit transducer array and the average speed of ultrasound in the tissue object, and image processing to fill in gaps between scan lines.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one of the at least one receive transducer is co-located with said transmit transducer array and comprises an element in said transmit transducer array.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said transmit transducer is a phased array type sector scanner which sends out pulses in successive angles from a common origin.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said transmit transducer is a linear phased array which sends out pulses on parallel paths.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said computer is configured to reconstruct a separate image for each of said at least one receive transducer.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said computer is further configured to superimpose images for each of said at least one receive transducer by finding a displacement which maximizes correlation to a reference image and then averaging the separate images.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said transmit transducer array and said at least one receive transducer are pivotally connected to an articulating arm so as to be mechanically linked and to move in the same plane.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said at least one receive transducer is sensitive in a plane of scan of the transmit transducer array.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, further including position sensors disposed on said transmit transducer and said at least one receive transducer and configured to determine the position of said at least one receive transducer in relation to said transmit transducer.

10. A method of reconstructing an image, comprising the steps of:

(a) insonifying an object one scan line at a time with a directional ultrasound pulse generated from a transmit transducer;

(b) recording at least one echo received by one or more relatively non-directional receive transducer elements angled differently than the transmit transducer, including at least one receive transducer element that is separated from the transmit transducer;

(c) storing the at least one echo in a line of computer memory;

(d) reconstructing scan lines as lines on a reconstructed image based on knowledge of a location of the receive transducer elements relative to that of the transmit transducer and the average speed of ultrasound in the object; and

(e) image processing to fill in gaps between scan lines, to combine overlapping scan lines.

11. The method of claim 10, further including the step of separating the receive transducer elements from the transmit transducer.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein when performing step (d), the reconstructed scan lines can be at arbitrary angles or locations and the number of such scan lines can exceed the number of ultrasound pulses generated.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the transmit transducer comprises a phased array type sector scanner configured to transmit ultrasound pulses in successive angles from a common origin.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the transmit transducer comprises a linear phased array configured to transmit ultrasound pulses on parallel paths.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising reconstructing a separate two-dimensional image for each receive transducer element and superimposing the separate two-dimensional images by finding a displacement which maximizes correlation to one chosen as the reference images and then averaging the images.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining a position of the one or more receive transducers relative to the transmit transducer with an instrumented arm connecting the one or more receive transducers to a probe containing the transmit transducer.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining a position of the one or more receive transducers with a rigid construction of the one or more receive transducers in a probe containing the transmit transducer.

18. The method claim 11, wherein the image processing comprises a deconvolution filter.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the image processing comprises unsharp masking.