Ultrasound imaging system memory architecture

• US 9,986,969 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2013
• Issued: 06/05/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maui Imaging, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Maui Imaging, Inc.
• Inventors: Call, Josef R., Brewer, Kenneth D., Le, Viet Nam, Ouellette, Matthew, Blake, Mathias
• Primary Examiner(s): Brutus, Joel F
• Application Number:
  US13/971,689
• Publication Number:
  US 20140058266A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,750 Days
• Field of Search: 600448
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/14 Echo-tomography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4427 Device being portable or laptop-like
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4483 characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/485 involving measuring strain or elastic properties
• 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 8/565 involving data transmission via a network
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/582 Remote testing of the device
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/585 Automatic set-up of the device
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/587 Calibration phantoms models for medical purposes G09B23/28
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8915 using a transducer array
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8927 using simultaneously or sequentially two or more subarrays or subapertures
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8959 using coded signals for correlation purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8979 Combined Doppler and pulse-echo imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8993 Three dimensional imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8995 Combining images from different aspect angles, e.g. spatial compounding
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8997 using synthetic aperture techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52042 determining elastic properties of the propagation medium or of the reflective target diagnostic techniques involving the measurement of strain A61B8/485
• 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 7/52049 using correction of medium-induced phase aberration
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52063 Sector scan display
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52074 : Composite displays, e.g. split-screen displays; Combination of multiple images or of images and alphanumeric tabular information
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52098 : related to workflow protocols
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/346 : using phase variation
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 1/02 : Remote control of amplification, tone or bandwidth combined with remote tuning or selection of resonant circuits H03J
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/3026 : the gain being discontinuously variable, e.g. controlled by switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 : Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones

Abstract

A multiple aperture ultrasound imaging system may be configured to store raw, un-beamformed echo data. Stored echo data may be retrieved and re-beamformed using modified parameters in order to enhance the image or to reveal information that was not visible or not discernible in an original image. Raw echo data may also be transmitted over a network and beamformed by a remote device that is not physically proximate to the probe performing imaging. Such systems may allow physicians or other practitioners to manipulate echo data as though they were imaging the patient directly, even without the patient being present. Many unique diagnostic opportunities are made possible by such systems and methods.

Claims

1. A method of producing an image from ultrasound data, comprising the steps of:

retrieving a first data set from a first non-volatile digital memory device with a computing system, the first data set comprising data describing first transmitter coordinates of one or more transmit elements making up a transmit aperture;

retrieving a second data set from a second non-volatile digital memory device with the computing system, the second data set comprising a first series of ultrasound echo strings produced by the transmit aperture, each ultrasound echo string of the first series comprising a plurality of echo samples received by one of a plurality of receive elements of a first receive aperture;

retrieving a third data set from the first non-volatile digital memory device with the computing system, the third data set comprising data describing coordinates of each of the plurality of elements of the first receive aperture relative to a common coordinate system with the first transmitter coordinates;

retrieving a fourth data set from the second non-volatile digital memory device with the computing system, the fourth data set comprising a second series of ultrasound echo strings produced by the transmit aperture, each ultrasound echo string of the second series comprising a plurality of echo samples received by one of a plurality of receive elements of a second receive aperture;

retrieving a fifth data set from the first non-volatile digital memory device with the computing system, the fifth data set comprising data describing coordinates of each of the plurality of elements of the first receive aperture relative to the common coordinate system;

obtaining a transmit location of the transmit aperture from the first data set in the computing system;

obtaining receive element coordinates for each of the plurality of elements of the first receive aperture from the second data set in the computing system;

obtaining receive element coordinates for each of the plurality of elements of the second receive aperture from the fifth data set in the computing system;

receiving, from a user input device, user input defining a first set of beamforming parameters, at least one parameter of the first set of beamforming parameters having a value different than a value used during an imaging session in which the second and fourth data was captured;

beamforming, with a beamfon ling processor, the second data set to determine a pixel display location for each echo sample in each echo string of the first series of ultrasound echo strings using the first set of beamforming parameters, the transmit location, and the receive element coordinates for each of the plurality of receive elements of the first receive aperture to determine trigonometric relationships between the transmit aperture, reflectors, and the receive elements of the first receive aperture and the receive elements of the second receive aperture to produce a first set of complete two-dimensional sub-images of a target object in the computing system;

combining, with an image layer combining processor, the first set of complete two-dimensional sub-images of the target object to form a first combined image;

beamforming, with the beamforming processor, the fourth data set to determine a pixel display location for each echo sample in each echo string of the second series of ultrasound echo strings using the first set of beamforming parameters, the transmit location, and the receive element coordinates for each of the plurality of receive elements of the second receive aperture to determine trigonometric relationships between the transmit aperture, reflectors, and the receive elements of the first receive aperture and the receive elements of the second receive aperture to produce a second set of complete two-dimensional images of the target object in the computing system;

combining, with the image layer combining processor, the second set of complete two-dimensional sub-images of the target object to form a second combined image;

combining, with the image layer combining processor, the first combined image and the second combined image to form a third combined image of the target object; and

displaying the third combined image of the target object on a display.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after displaying the first set of images of the target object on the display, adjusting at least one beamforming parameter to form a second set of beamforming parameters different than the first set of beamforming parameters; and

beamforming the second data set using the second set of beamforming parameters to produce a second set of images of the target object.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one beamforming parameter is a speed-of-sound in the target object.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one beamforming parameter is an adjusted position of a transmit transducer element of the transmit aperture or a receive transducer element of the receive aperture relative to the common coordinate system.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one beamforming parameter is a weighting factor.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after displaying the first set of images of the target object on the display, defining a second image window of the target object different than a first image window of the first set of images; and

beamforming the second data set to produce a second set of images of the second image window of the target object.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the image window covers an area within the first set of images and less than a total area of the first set of images, the method further comprising measuring a size of a structure visible in the second set of images.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding a m-mode line to a display based on an image formed from the second data set.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting an algorithm for combining images coherently and incoherently.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein producing the first set of images further comprises combining a first plurality of image layers to form a first set of frames, each image layer corresponding to a different combination of the transmit aperture and the receive aperture, and displaying the first set of frames at a first frame rate.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising beamforming the second data set to produce a second set of images of the target object, including combining a second plurality of image layers to form a second set of frames, each image layer corresponding to a different combination of the transmit aperture and the receive aperture, the second set of frames having a greater number of frames than the first set of frames, and displaying the second set of frames at a second frame rate that is higher than the first frame rate.