Spread spectrum coded waveforms in ultrasound diagnostics
First Claim
1. An acoustic imaging system, comprising:
- a waveform generation unit comprising one or more waveform synthesizers and amplifiers coupled to a waveform generator, the waveform generation unit to synthesize a composite waveform comprising individual orthogonal coded waveforms corresponding to distinct frequency bands that are generated by the one or more waveform synthesizers according to waveform information provided by the waveform generator, wherein the individual orthogonal coded waveforms include one or both of frequency-coded or phase-coded waveforms;
a transmitter array of transducer elements in communication with the waveform generation unit to transmit acoustic waveforms forming a composite acoustic waveform based on drive signals produced from the individual orthogonal coded waveforms of the composite waveform toward a biological material, wherein the transmitter array of transducer elements is partitioned into two or more subarrays such that at least one of the two or more subarrays is individually amplitude weighted and at least one of the two or more subarrays is individually phase weighted for at least one frequency band of the frequency bands corresponding to the transmitted acoustic waveforms and combined, thereby providing enhanced cross-range resolution;
a receiver array of transducer elements to receive returned acoustic waveforms returned from at least part of the biological material, wherein the received returned acoustic waveforms correspond to at least some of the transmitted acoustic waveforms of the composite acoustic waveform, wherein the receiver array of transducer elements is partitioned into two or more subarrays such that at least one of the two or more subarrays is individually amplitude weighted and at least one of the two or more subarrays is individually phase weighted for at least one frequency band of the frequency bands corresponding to the received returned acoustic waveforms and combined, thereby providing enhanced cross-range resolution; and
a controller unit in communication with the waveform generation unit and the transmitter and receiver arrays, the controller unit including a processing unit to process the received returned acoustic waveforms to produce an image of at least part of the biological material.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques, systems, and devices are disclosed for ultrasound diagnostics using spread spectrum, coherent, frequency- and/or phase-coded waveforms. In one aspect, a method includes synthesizing individual orthogonal coded waveforms to form a composite waveform for transmission toward a biological material of interest, in which the synthesized individual orthogonal coded waveforms correspond to distinct frequency bands and include one or both of frequency-coded or phase-coded waveforms; transmitting a composite acoustic waveform toward the biological material of interest, where the transmitting includes transducing the individual orthogonal coded waveforms into corresponding acoustic waveforms to form the composite acoustic waveform; receiving acoustic waveforms returned from at least part of the biological material of interest corresponding to at least some of the transmitted acoustic waveforms that form the composite acoustic waveform; and processing the received returned acoustic waveforms to produce an image of at least part of the biological material of interest.
-
Citations
22 Claims
-
1. An acoustic imaging system, comprising:
-
a waveform generation unit comprising one or more waveform synthesizers and amplifiers coupled to a waveform generator, the waveform generation unit to synthesize a composite waveform comprising individual orthogonal coded waveforms corresponding to distinct frequency bands that are generated by the one or more waveform synthesizers according to waveform information provided by the waveform generator, wherein the individual orthogonal coded waveforms include one or both of frequency-coded or phase-coded waveforms; a transmitter array of transducer elements in communication with the waveform generation unit to transmit acoustic waveforms forming a composite acoustic waveform based on drive signals produced from the individual orthogonal coded waveforms of the composite waveform toward a biological material, wherein the transmitter array of transducer elements is partitioned into two or more subarrays such that at least one of the two or more subarrays is individually amplitude weighted and at least one of the two or more subarrays is individually phase weighted for at least one frequency band of the frequency bands corresponding to the transmitted acoustic waveforms and combined, thereby providing enhanced cross-range resolution; a receiver array of transducer elements to receive returned acoustic waveforms returned from at least part of the biological material, wherein the received returned acoustic waveforms correspond to at least some of the transmitted acoustic waveforms of the composite acoustic waveform, wherein the receiver array of transducer elements is partitioned into two or more subarrays such that at least one of the two or more subarrays is individually amplitude weighted and at least one of the two or more subarrays is individually phase weighted for at least one frequency band of the frequency bands corresponding to the received returned acoustic waveforms and combined, thereby providing enhanced cross-range resolution; and a controller unit in communication with the waveform generation unit and the transmitter and receiver arrays, the controller unit including a processing unit to process the received returned acoustic waveforms to produce an image of at least part of the biological material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A method for producing an image of a biological material from acoustic signals, comprising:
-
synthesizing individual orthogonal coded waveforms to form a composite waveform for transmission toward a biological material of interest, wherein the synthesized individual orthogonal coded waveforms correspond to distinct frequency bands and include one or both of frequency-coded or phase-coded waveforms, and wherein each individual orthogonal coded waveform includes one or more amplitudes and one or more phases, with the one or more amplitudes individually amplitude weighted for at least one waveform of the individual orthogonal coded waveforms and the one or more phases individually phase weighted for at least one waveform of the individual orthogonal coded waveforms, thereby providing at least one of steering, focus, or forming of the composite waveform; transmitting a composite acoustic waveform based on drive signals produced from the individual orthogonal coded waveforms of the synthesized composite waveform toward the biological material of interest, wherein the transmitting includes generating drive signals based the individual orthogonal coded waveforms to drive transducer elements of a transducer array to form the composite acoustic waveform; receiving returned acoustic waveforms that are returned from at least part of the biological material of interest corresponding to at least some of the transmitted acoustic waveforms that form the composite acoustic waveform; and processing the received returned acoustic waveforms to produce an image of at least part of the biological material of interest. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
Specification