Medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging methods for extended field of view

• US 20020120195A1
• Filed: 02/21/2002
• Published: 08/29/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acuson Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Acuson Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Pang, Linyong, Ustuner, Kutay F., Bradley, Charles E., Sumanaweera, Thilaka S., Hossack, John A., Allison, John W.
• Granted Patent: US 6,641,536 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/443
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/06 Measuring blood flow measuring volume flow in general G01F, e.g. G01F1/66, G01F1/72; measuring speed of fluids in general G01P5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/12 in body cavities or body tracts, e.g. by using catheters catheters per se A61M25/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/13 Tomography A61B8/10, A61B8/12 take precedence; tomography for radiation diagnosis A61B6/02
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8927 using simultaneously or sequentially two or more subarrays or subapertures
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8979 Combined Doppler and pulse-echo imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52034 Data rate converters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/5205 Means for monitoring or calibrating
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/5206 Two-dimensional coordinated display of distance and direction; B-scan display
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52065 Compound scan display, e.g. panoramic imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52071 Multicolour displays; using colour coding; Optimising colour or information content in displays, e.g. parametric imaging
• 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 7/52085 Details related to the ultrasound signal acquisition, e.g. scan sequences control of medical diagnostic ultrasound devices A61B8/54
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10132 Ultrasound image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30004 Biomedical image processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30101 Blood vessel; Artery; Vein; Vascular
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/147 using affine transformations
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/32 using correlation-based methods

Abstract

A medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging system aligns substantially co-planar two-dimensional images to form an extended field of view using improved compounding methods. Compounding with a finite impulse response is used for more versatile compositing. The compounding is adaptive, such as through adapting the image regions, weighting, or type of compounding as a function of correlation, location within the image, estimated motion or combinations thereof. A user warning is provided as a function of the correlation between images.

Claims

1. A medical diagnostic ultrasound method for forming an extended field of view of a target, the method comprising the acts of:

(a) selecting first and second medical ultrasonic images, the first and second images partially overlapping;

(b) compounding the first image with the second image in an overlapping region in response to a finite impulse response function; and

(c) generating an extended field of view image responsive to (b);

wherein at least a portion of the extended field of view image corresponding to the overlapping region is free of recursive compounding.

3. The method of claims 1 or 2 wherein (b) comprises alpha blending.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein (b) comprises using OpenGL commands.

5. The method of claims 1 or 2 wherein (b) comprises averaging.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein (b) comprises averaging with non-uniform weights.

7. The method of claims 1 or 2 wherein (b) comprises applying weights to the images, the weights larger for portions of the images spaced from the center than for center portions.

8. The method of claims 1 or 2 wherein (b) comprises compounding side portions of the images without compounding center portions.

9. The method of claims 1 or 2 wherein (a) comprises selecting images responsive to different frequencies.

11. The method of claims 1 or 10 further comprising:

(d) signal processing the compounded information prior to (c);

wherein the extended field of view image is responsive to the signal processing.

12. The method of claims 1 or 2 wherein (b) is adaptive as a function of motion.

13. The method of claims 1 or 2 wherein (b) is adaptive as a function of correlation.

14. The method of claims 1 or 2 further comprising compensating for scanning rate error.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein (b) comprises using OpenGL commands.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

(c) performing (b) with an OpenGL accelerator.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein (b) comprises blending image data as a function of an alpha value.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

(c) blending alpha values for each frame of image data; and

(d) dividing the blended image data of (b) with the blended alpha values of (c).

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising:

(e) multiplying the output of (d) by a value.

21. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

(c) using a sub-set of bits comprising image data for (b), the sub-set comprising higher bits.

22. The method of claim 15 wherein (a) comprises selecting images as a function of an estimate of motion.

23. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

(c) masking the first and second images;

wherein (b) is responsive to the masked first and second images.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising:

(d) applying a different mask to the first image than to the second image.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein (d) comprises varying the mask as a function of a image position within an extended field of view image.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein (c) comprises applying a greater weight for the side portions than for center portions.

28. The method of claim 26 wherein (b) and (c) comprise compounding only side portions of the first and second images.

68. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein the first and second images comprise coherently adjacent line data.

70. The method of claim 1, 2, 15 and 31 further comprising providing a plurality of user selectable applications wherein (b) is responsive to user selection of one of the selectable applications.

2. A medical diagnostic ultrasound method for forming an extended field of view of a target, the method comprising the acts of:

(a) selecting at least three medical ultrasonic images, the first and second images partially overlapping; and

(b) compounding the at least three images in an overlapping region in response to a finite impulse response function.

10. The method of claims 2 further comprising:

(c) generating an extended field of view image responsive to (b).

15. A medical diagnostic ultrasound method for forming an extended field of view of a target, the method comprising the acts of:

(a) selecting first and second medical ultrasonic images, the first and second images partially overlapping; and

(b) alpha blending the first image with the second image in an overlapping region.

26. A medical diagnostic ultrasound method for forming an extended field of view of a target, the method comprising the acts of:

(a) selecting first and second medical ultrasonic images, the first and second images partially overlapping;

(b) compounding the first image with the second image in an overlapping region; and

(c) emphasizing side portions of the first and second images in (b).

29. A medical diagnostic ultrasound method for forming an extended field of view of a target, the method comprising the acts of:

(a) selecting first and second medical ultrasonic images, the first and second images partially overlapping and characterized by different receive frequencies;

(b) compounding the first image with the second image in an overlapping region; and

(c) generating an extended field of view image responsive to (b).

30. A medical diagnostic ultrasound method for forming an extended field of view of a target, the method comprising the acts of:

(a) selecting first and second medical ultrasonic images, the first and second images partially overlapping;

(b) filtering the first and second images;

(c) generating an extended field of view image from the filtered first and second images; and

(d) estimating motion from the unfiltered first and second images.

31. A medical diagnostic ultrasound method for forming an extended field of view of a target, the method comprising the acts of:

(a) selecting first and second medical ultrasonic images, the first and second images partially overlapping;

(b) adaptively compounding the first image with the second image in an overlapping region; and

(c) generating an extended field of view image responsive to (b).

32. The method of claim 31 wherein (b) comprises adaptively changing an image width as a function of estimated motion.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein (b) comprises selecting the image width as a function of a number of images to be compounded.

34. The method of claim 31 wherein (b) comprises adaptively changing a weight as a function of estimated motion.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein (b) comprises compounding the first image with the second image recursively;

and

wherein the weight comprises a recursive weight.

36. The method of claim 34 further comprising:

(d) changing the weight as a function of location within the first image.

37. The method of claim 31 wherein (b) comprises adaptively changing an opacity as a function of estimated motion.

38. The method of claim 31 wherein (b) comprises adaptively changing a weight as a function of a correlation between the first and second images.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein (b) comprises applying higher weights for lower correlations.

40. The method of claim 38 wherein (b) comprises adaptively changing the weight as a function of a minimum sum of absolute differences and an average sum of absolute differences.

41. The method of claim 31 wherein (b) comprises adaptively changing a weight as a function of location in the first image.

42. The method of claim 41 wherein (b) comprises applying greater weight to side portions of the first image.

43. The method of claim 31 wherein (b) comprises changing a type of compounding.

44. The method of claim 43 wherein (b) comprises at least two types of compounding selected from the group consisting of:

no compounding, finite impulse response compounding and recursive compounding.

45. The method of claim 31 wherein (b) comprises adaptively compounding as a function of a correlation between the first and second images.

46. The method of claim 45 further comprising:

(d) determining the correlation as a function of lower frequency components of the first and second images.

47. The method of claim 45 further comprising:

(d) determining the correlation for a plurality of locations in the overlapping region; and

wherein (b) comprises changing the compounding as a function of the correlation at each of the plurality of locations.

48. The method of claim 45 wherein (b) comprises adaptively compounding as a function of a change in the correlation.

49. The method of claim 31 wherein (b) comprises adaptively compounding as a function of estimated motion.

50. The method of claim 49 wherein (b) further comprises adaptively compounding as a function of correlation.

51. The method of claim 31 wherein (a) comprises adaptively selecting the first and second images from a plurality of images as a function of estimated motion.

52. The method of claim 51 wherein (a) comprises selecting the first image separated by a greater number of images from the second image for smaller motion estimates.

53. The method of claim 31 wherein (b) comprises compounding with a finite impulse response.

54. The method of claim 53 wherein (b) comprises compounding in response to OpenGL commands.

55. The method of claim 53 wherein (b) comprises compounding with alpha blending.

56. The method of claim 31 further comprising:

(d) scaling the first image as a function of a scan rate and a frame rate.

57. The method of claim 31 further comprising:

(d) estimating motion between the first and second images; and

(e) applying different processing to the first and second images for (d) than for (b).

58. The method of claim 57 wherein (e) comprises filtering the first and second images for (b) and maintaining the first and second images substantially free of filtering for (d).

59. The method of claim 31 further comprising:

(d) determining a correlation between the first and second images; and

(d) presenting to a user an alarm indicative of poor correlation.

60. The method of claim 31 wherein (a) comprises selecting the first image responsive to a different frequency than the second image.

61. The method of claim 60 further comprising:

(d) estimating motion between the third and fourth images, the third and fourth images responsive to a substantially same frequency; and

(e) determining motion between the first and second images as a function of the estimated motion of (d).

62. The method of claim 31 further comprising:

(d) signal processing the compounded information prior to (c);

wherein the extended field of view image is responsive to the signal processing.

67. The method of claim 31 further comprising:

(d) estimating motion between the first and second images; and

(e) scaling the estimated motion as a function of a scan rate and a frame rate.

63. A medical diagnostic ultrasound method for extended field of view data collection, the method comprising the acts of:

(a) selecting first and second medical ultrasonic images, the first and second images partially overlapping;

(b) determining a correlation between the first and second images; and

(c) presenting to a user an alarm indicative of poor correlation in response to the correlation.

64. The method of claim 63 wherein (c) comprises generating an audible sound.

65. The method of claim 63 wherein (c) comprises requesting a repeat scan.

66. The method of claim 63 wherein (b) comprises calculating a minimum sum of absolute differences and an average sum of absolute differences between the first and second images.

69. A medical diagnostic ultrasound method for forming an extended field of view of a target, the method comprising the acts of:

(a) selecting first and second medical ultrasonic images, the first and second images partially overlapping and comprising coherently adjacent line data;

(b) compounding the first image with the second image in an overlapping region; and

(c) generating an extended field of view image responsive to (b).