Transducer array imaging system

• US 9,295,444 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2006
• Issued: 03/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Schwartz, Jodi Klessel, Lannutti, Anthony P., Randall, Kevin S., Urbano, Joseph A., Weymer, Raymond F. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jung, Unsu
• Assistant Examiner(s): Santos Rodriguez, Joseph M
• Application Number:
  US11/595,171
• Publication Number:
  US 20080114255A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,427 Days
• Field of Search: 600/437, 600443-447, 600/459, 73625-626
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/00 Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves imaging of objects using sonar G01S15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4422 related to hygiene or sterilisation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4438 Means for identifying the diagnostic device, e.g. barcodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4455 Features of the external shape of the probe, e.g. ergonomic aspects
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4472 Wireless probes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4483 characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/565 involving data transmission via a network
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8906 Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8913 using separate transducers for transmission and reception
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/003 Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations
• 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

Abstract

The disclosed embodiments include a method, system, and device for conducting ultrasound interrogation of a medium. The novel method includes transmitting a non-beamformed or beamformed ultrasound wave into the medium, receiving more than one echoed ultrasound wave from the medium, and converting the received echoed ultrasound wave into digital data. The novel method may further transmit the digital data. In some embodiments, the transmitting may be wireless. The novel device may include transducer elements, an analog-to-digital converter in communication with the transducer elements, and a transmitter in communication with the analog-to-digital converter. The transducers may operate to convert a first electrical energy into an ultrasound wave. The first electrical energy may or may not be beamformed. The transducers also may convert an echoed ultrasound wave into a second electrical energy. The analog-to-digital converter may convert the electrical energy into digital data, and the transmitter may transmit the digital data.

Claims

1. A method for conducting ultrasound interrogation of a medium, comprising:

receiving an ultrasound echo wave at a first location;

receiving the ultrasound echo wave at a second location;

converting ultrasound echo wave received at the first location to digital data and the ultrasound echo wave received at the second location to digital data;

decimating the digital data of the ultrasound echo wave received at the first location and the ultrasound echo wave received at the second location before combining the digital data of the received ultrasound echo wave received at the first location with the digital data of the ultrasound echo wave received at the second location;

at least one computer processor, the at least one computer processor configured to reduce the digital data associated with the ultrasound echo wave before the digital data representing the received ultrasound echo wave received at the first ultrasound transducer element and at the second ultrasound transducer element is beamformed, wherein the at least one computer processor reduces a quantity of the digital data by limiting the digital data provided to the wireless transmitter to data representing a displayed area of interest of the region of the medium, the area of interest smaller than the region of the medium;

transmitting wirelessly the decimated and uncombined digital data to a main unit;

receiving the decimated and uncombined digital data at the main unit;

interpolating the received digital data; and

forming an image from the interpolated digital data.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising partially combining the received ultrasound echo wave at the first location and the second location.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the combining comprises beamforming the received ultrasound echo wave.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising, translating the received ultrasound echo wave to a baseband signal.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising, restricting the digital data to an area in a region of interest.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the region of interest is a function of a displayed image.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising, adjusting a rate of transmitted digital data as a function of a display resolution.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the rate is equal to the display resolution.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting a resolution of a display of an image created from the digital data.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising arranging the digital data into one or more data streams.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the arranging comprises transmitting the digital data over a plurality of wireless channels.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising, comparing a characteristic of the digital data to a predetermined threshold, determining a portion of the digital data as a function of the predetermined threshold.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising arranging the digital data using at least one of the following techniques:

manipulating the digital data after converting the received ultrasound echo wave to digital data or manipulating the received ultrasound echo wave prior to converting the received ultrasound echo wave to digital data.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein arranging the digital data comprises at least one of the following:

multiplexing or interleaving.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising multiplexing using at least one of the following techniques:

time-division multiplexing, frequency-division multiplexing, code-division multiplexing, or pulse width-division multiplexing.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the digital data is interleaved as a function of at least one of the following:

time, position of transducer channels, or data bit position.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the digital data at a rate that varies as a function of at least one of the following:

an available bandwidth of the transmission, a rate at which the digital data is acquired, an image frame, a transmit aperture, or a receive aperture.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the digital data and transmitting the digital data after at least one image frame of digital data is stored.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing at least two image frames.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising reducing a number of at least one of a transmitted non-beamformed wave or received ultrasound echo wave to create the image frame.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming the ultrasound echo wave using at least one of the following techniques:

focusing, unfocusing, or defocusing.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming the ultrasound echo wave using at least one of the following techniques:

synthetic transmit focusing or acoustic transmit focusing.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising converting the ultrasound echo wave to digital data using quadrature sampling.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting a transmission rate of the digital data based on a minimum acceptable rate of displaying an image frame and an amount of digital data per image frame.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting a displayed frame rate based on a rate of the transmission of the digital data.

26. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting an amount of digital data per image frame based on a rate of the transmission of the digital data.

27. The method of claim 1, further comprising reducing a bandwidth of the digital data by at least one of the following:

converting the ultrasound echo wave to a different frequency band prior to converting to digital data, quadrature sampling, second order sampling, or third order sampling.

28. The method of claim 1, further comprising reducing a quantity of the digital data by limiting the transmitted digital data as a function of displayed region of interest of the medium.

29. The method of claim 1, further comprising packetizing the digital data.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising retransmitting a compromised packet.

31. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the digital data based on at least one of the following characteristics:

capability of a remote unit, quality of transmission of digital data, quantity of errors in transmission of digital data, or availability of power.

32. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the digital data using at least one of the following techniques:

optical, infrared, radio frequency, or ultrawideband frequency.

33. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a unique identifier with the digital data, wherein the unique identifier is used for at least one of the following:

initiating communication with a remote unit, synchronizing communication with a remote unit, or ensuring communication with a predetermined remote unit.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the unique identifier is a bit sequence, and wherein the unique identifier establishes at least one of the following:

an image frame boundary or a data packet boundary.

35. The method of claim 1, wherein the combining comprises beamforming the received ultrasound echo wave.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the decimated digital data is transmitted before the received ultrasound echo wave is beamformed.

37. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital data is further reduced by at least one of the following:

translating the received ultrasound echo wave to a baseband signal, translating the digital data to a different frequency range, filtering, dynamic range transfer, clipping, data compression, increased quantization, or domain transform.

38. A system for conducting ultrasound interrogation of a medium, comprising:

a first ultrasound transducer element;

a second ultrasound transducer element, wherein the first and second ultrasound transducer elements receive an ultrasound echo wave representing a region of the medium;

an analog-to-digital converter device, the converter device converting ultrasound echo wave received at a first location to digital data and the ultrasound echo wave received at a second location to digital data and decimating the digital data of the ultrasound echo wave received at the first location and the ultrasound echo wave received at the second location before combining the digital data of the received ultrasound echo wave received at the first location with the digital data of the ultrasound echo wave received at the second location;

a wireless transmitter operable to transmit reduced and unbeamformed digital data to a main unit; and

at least one computer processor, the at least one computer processor configured to reduce the digital data associated with the ultrasound echo wave before the digital data representing the received ultrasound echo wave received at the first ultrasound transducer element and at the second ultrasound transducer element is beamformed, wherein the at least one computer processor reduces a quantity of the digital data by limiting the digital data provided to the wireless transmitter to data representing a displayed area of interest of the region of the medium, the area of interest smaller than the region of the medium;

transmitting wirelessly the decimated and uncombined digital data to a main unit;

receiving the decimated and uncombined digital data at the main unit;

interpolating the received digital data; and

forming an image from the interpolated digital data.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the transmitter transmits the digital data using at least one of the following techniques:

optical, infrared, radio frequency, or ultrawideband frequency.

40. The system of claim 38, wherein the transmitter adjusts a transmission rate of the digital data based on a minimum acceptable rate of displaying an image frame and an amount of digital data per image frame.

41. The system of claim 38, further comprising a second processor, wherein at least one of the first processor or the second processor adjusts a displayed frame rate based on a rate of the transmission of the digital data.

42. The system of claim 38, wherein the at least one computer processor adjusts an amount of digital data per image frame based on a rate of the transmission of the digital data.

43. The system of claim 38, wherein the analog-to-digital converter device reduces a bandwidth of the digital data by at least one of the following:

converting the ultrasound echo wave to a different frequency band prior to converting to digital data, quadrature sampling, second order sampling, or third order sampling.

44. The system of claim 38, wherein the at least one computer processor packetizes the digital data, and wherein the transmitter retransmits a compromised packet.

45. The system of claim 38, wherein the at least one computer processor directs the transmitter to transmit the digital data based on at least one of the following characteristics:

capability of a remote unit, quality of transmission of digital data, quantity of errors in transmission of digital data, or availability of power.

46. The system of claim 38, wherein the at least one computer processor provides a unique identifier with the digital data, wherein the unique identifier is used for at least one of the following:

initiating communication with a remote unit, synchronizing communication with a remote unit, or ensuring communication with a predetermined remote unit.

47. The system of claim 46, wherein the unique identifier is a bit sequence, and wherein the unique identifier establishes at least one of the following:

an image frame boundary or a data packet boundary.

48. The system of claim 38, wherein the at least one computer processor further reduces the digital data by at least one of the following:

translating the received ultrasound echo wave to a baseband signal, translating the digital data to a different frequency range, filtering, dynamic range transfer, clipping, data compression, increased quantization, or domain transform.

49. The system of claim 38, wherein the area of interest is a function of a displayed image.

50. The system of claim 38, wherein the at least one computer processor further reduces the data by adjusting a rate of transmitted digital data as a function of a display resolution.

51. The system of claim 50, wherein the rate is equal to the display resolution.

52. The system of claim 38, wherein at least one computer processor adjusts a resolution of a display of an image created from the digital data.

53. The system of claim 38, further comprising a multiplexer that arranges the digital data into one or more data streams.

54. The system of claim 53, wherein the multiplexer arranges the digital data to be transmitted over a plurality of wireless channels.

55. The system of claim 53, wherein the multiplexer arranges the digital data using at least one of the following techniques:

manipulating the digital data after converting the received ultrasound echo wave to digital data or manipulating the received ultrasound echo wave prior to converting the received ultrasound echo wave to digital data.

56. The system of claim 53, wherein the multiplexer arranges the digital data using at least one of the following techniques:

time-division multiplexing, frequency-division multiplexing, code-division multiplexing, or pulse width-division multiplexing.

57. The system of claim 38, wherein the at least one computer processor further reduces the data by comparing a characteristic of the digital data to a predetermined threshold, and by determining a portion of the digital data as a function of the predetermined threshold.

58. The system of claim 38, further comprising a multiplexer in communication with the first processor.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein the multiplexer arranges the digital data as a function of at least one of the following:

time, position of transducer channels, or data bit position.

60. The system of claim 38, wherein the first processor creates an image frame from the digital data.

61. The system of claim 60, wherein the image frame is created by reducing a number of at least one of a transmitted non-beamformed wave or received ultrasound echo wave.

62. The system of claim 38, further comprising a data store in communication with the at least one computer processor, wherein the data store stores the digital data at a rate that varies as a function of at least one of the following:

an available bandwidth of the transmission, a rate at which the digital data is acquired, an image frame, a transmit aperture, or a receive aperture.

63. The system of claim 62, wherein the data store stores the digital data and transmits the digital data after at least one image frame of digital data is stored.

64. The system of claim 62, wherein the data store stores at least two image frames.

65. The system of claim 38, wherein the ultrasound echo wave is formed using at least one of the following techniques:

focusing, unfocusing, or defocusing.

66. The system of claim 38, wherein the analog-to-digital converter device converts the ultrasound echo wave to digital data using quadrature sampling.

67. A method for conducting ultrasound interrogation of a medium, comprising:

receiving an ultrasound echo wave representing a region of interest at a first location comprising a first element;

receiving the ultrasound echo wave at a second location comprising a second element;

converting to digital data the received ultrasound echo wave at the first location and the second location and decimating the digital data of the ultrasound echo wave received at the first location and the ultrasound echo wave received at the second location before combining the digital data of the received ultrasound echo wave received at the first location with the digital data of the ultrasound echo wave received at the second location;

at least one computer processor, the at least one computer processor configured to reduce the digital data associated with the ultrasound echo wave before the digital data representing the received ultrasound echo wave received at the first ultrasound transducer element and at the second ultrasound transducer element is beamformed, wherein the at least one computer processor reduces a quantity of the digital data by limiting the digital data provided to the wireless transmitter to data representing a displayed area of interest of the region of the medium, the area of interest smaller than the region of the medium;

transmitting the reduced and uncombined digital data to a main unit;

receiving the decimated and uncombined digital data at the main unit;

interpolating the received digital data; and

forming an image from the interpolated digital data.