Monolithic ultrasonic imaging devices, systems and methods

• US 9,521,991 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2014
• Issued: 12/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BFLY Operations, Inc. (Butterfly Network, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Butterfly Network, Inc.
• Inventors: Rothberg, Jonathan M., Fife, Keith G., Ralston, Tyler S., Charvat, Gregory L., Sanchez, Nevada J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fernandez, Katherine
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCDONALD, KATHERINE M
• Application Number:
  US14/208,281
• Publication Number:
  US 20140288428A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,013 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/14 Echo-tomography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/145 characterised by scanning multiple planes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4483 characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4488 the transducer being a phased array
• 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 8/485 involving measuring strain or elastic properties
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/54 Control of the diagnostic device
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 7/00 Ultrasound therapy lithotripsy A61B17/22, A61B17/225; massage using supersonic vibration A61H23/00 ; using ultrasound for introducing media into the body A61M37/0092
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 7/02 Localised ultrasound hyperthermia hyperthermia in general A61F7/00
• CPC Class Codes: B06B 1/02 making use of electrical energy B06B1/18, B06B1/20 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B81C 1/00246 Monolithic integration, i.e. micromechanical structure and electronic processing unit are integrated on the same substrate
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/02 using reflection of acoustic waves G01S15/66 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8915 using a transducer array
• 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 7/52019 Details of transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52034 Data rate converters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52047 for elimination of side lobes or of grating lobes; for increasing resolving power
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/5208 with integration of processing functions inside probe or scanhead
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/00 Details of transducers, loudspeakers or microphones

Abstract

To implement a single-chip ultrasonic imaging solution, on-chip signal processing may be employed in the receive signal path to reduce data bandwidth and a high-speed serial data module may be used to move data for all received channels off-chip as digital data stream. The digitization of received signals on-chip allows advanced digital signal processing to be performed on-chip, and thus permits the full integration of an entire ultrasonic imaging system on a single semiconductor substrate. Various novel waveform generation techniques, transducer configuration and biasing methodologies, etc., are likewise disclosed. HIFU methods may additionally or alternatively be employed as a component of the “ultrasound-on-a-chip” solution disclosed herein.

Claims

1. An ultrasound device, comprising:

at least first and second ultrasonic transducer elements;

a first transmit control circuit comprising;

a first pulser coupled to the first ultrasonic transducer element so as to drive the first ultrasonic transducer element so that the first ultrasonic transducer element emits an ultrasonic pulse;

a first waveform generator coupled to the first pulser to provide a first waveform to the first pulser in response to receipt, by the first transmit control circuit, of a transmit enable signal generated by a timing and control circuit; and

at least one first component that impacts a length of a first delay between when the first transmit control circuit receives the transmit enable signal and when the first waveform is applied to the first pulser;

a second transmit control circuit comprising;

a second pulser coupled to the second ultrasonic transducer element so as to drive the second ultrasonic transducer element so that the second ultrasonic transducer element emits an ultrasonic pulse;

a second waveform generator coupled to the second pulser to provide a second waveform to the second pulser in response to receipt, by the second transmit control circuit, of the transmit enable signal generated by the timing and control circuit; and

at least one second component that impacts a length of a second delay between when the second transmit control circuit receives the transmit enable signal and when the second waveform is applied to the second pulser;

wherein the at least one first component is configured differently than the at least one second component, so that the length of the second delay is different than the length of the first delay, and wherein the first and second ultrasonic transducer elements, the first transmit control circuit, and the second transmit control circuit are formed on a single solid state semiconductor die.

2. The ultrasound device of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one first component comprises a first shift register that delays the transmit enable signal by a first number of clock cycles before providing the transmit enable signal to the first waveform generator;

the at least one second component comprises a second shift register that delays the transmit enable signal by a second number of clock cycles, which is different than the first number of clock cycles, before providing the transmit enable signal to the second waveform generator.

3. The ultrasound device of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one first component comprises a first register containing a first value that determines a starting frequency of the first waveform generator; and

the at least one second component comprises a second register containing a second value, which is different than the first value, that determines a starting frequency of the second waveform generator.

4. The ultrasound device of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one first component comprises a first register containing a first value that determines a starting phase of the first waveform generator; and

the at least one second component comprises a second register containing a second value, which is different than the first value, that determines a starting phase of the second waveform generator.

5. The ultrasound device of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one first component comprises a first delay element that delays the first waveform output by the first waveform generator by a first amount of time before it reaches the first pulser; and

the at least one second component comprises a second delay element that delays the second waveform output by the second waveform generator by a second amount of time, which is different than the first amount of time, before it reaches the second pulser.