公开(公告)号：US4926872A

公开(公告)日：1990-05-22

申请号：US173763

申请日：1988-03-28

申请人： George A. Brock-Fisher ,  Paul R. Kranz ,  James R. Mniece ,  Karl E. Thiele ,  Bernard J. Savord ,  Richard B. Smith

发明人： George A. Brock-Fisher ,  Paul R. Kranz ,  James R. Mniece ,  Karl E. Thiele ,  Bernard J. Savord ,  Richard B. Smith

IPC分类号： G01N29/26 ,  A61B8/00 ,  A61B8/06 ,  G01N29/06 ,  G01S7/52 ,  G01S15/89 ,  G10K11/34

CPC分类号： G10K11/345 ,  G01N29/0609 ,  G01S15/8918 ,  G01S15/8979 ,  G01S7/52046 ,  G01S7/52085 ,  G01N2291/0289

摘要： This invention provides an ultrasonic transducer system which utilizes a reconfigurable delay line to perform a variety of processing functions. In particular, for a preferred embodiment, the delay line utilized to sum the outputs of transducer elements is reconfigurable to provide serial processing of image scan lines while providing parallel processing of Doppler color flow scan lines. More particularly, the echo signals generated in response to the packet of color flow lines utilized to generate color flow information are applied in a predetermined way to two separate portions of the delay line, the portions of the delay line having different delay profiles, the resulting outputs being focussed to slightly different points in the image and thus providing color flow packets for two separate points in response to the transmission of a single packet of color flow lines. This results in a substantial enhancement of the system frame rate.Other possible applications of the reconfigurable delay line in an ultrasonic scanning system are also discussed, and a packet serializer is disclosed which buffers, sequences, and preprocesses the received packet data.

公开(公告)号：US5443070A

公开(公告)日：1995-08-22

申请号：US291637

申请日：1994-08-17

申请人： James R. Mniece

发明人： James R. Mniece

IPC分类号： G01N29/24 ,  A61B8/00 ,  B06B1/06 ,  G01N29/26 ,  G10K11/34 ,  H04R17/00 ,  H04R17/08

CPC分类号： B06B1/0622 ,  G10K11/34 ,  H04R17/08

摘要： A probe in an ultrasound imaging system uses electrostrictive transducer elements that exhibit little or no piezoelectric properties when in an unbiased state, but do exhibit them when a bias is applied. A linear array of a large number of electrostrictive transducer elements in a probe are provided with an aperture that is shifted across the probe by biasing on and off banks of interconnected electrostrictive transducer elements. The progression of transducer elements from one end of the probe to the other is divided or grouped into adjacent banks of consecutive transducer elements. Each bank has the same number (n) of transducer elements. Each of the n-many transducer elements within a bank has a bias terminal, a signal return or ground terminal and a driven terminal. All the ground terminals are common and connected to a signal return, or ground. The driven terminal of each transducer element in a bank is connected in parallel with the corresponding transducer element in every other bank. Within each bank all bias terminals are connected in parallel, but each bank has a separate bias. At any given time only one bank is biased on. Thus, each of the transducer elements within the banks is excited in a cyclic fashion while advancing the selected bank once every cycle.

摘要翻译： 超声成像系统中的探针使用电致伸缩换能器元件，当处于无偏态时，它们表现出很小的压电性能或者没有压电性能，但是当施加偏压时它们会展现出它们。 探针中大量电致伸缩元件的线性阵列设置有通过偏置互连的电致伸缩换能器元件组而跨越探针的孔。 传感器元件从探针的一端到另一端的进程被划分或分组成相邻的连续换能器元件组。 每个组具有相同数量的（n）个换能器元件。 组内的n个多个换能器元件中的每一个具有偏置端子，信号返回或接地端子和从动端子。 所有接地端子都是通用的，并连接到信号返回或接地。 一组中每个换能器元件的驱动端子与每隔一个组中的相应换能器元件并联连接。 在每个银行内，所有偏置端子并联连接，但每个银行都有一个单独的偏差。 在任何时候，只有一家银行有偏见。 因此，每个周期内每一个振荡器元件以循环方式被激励，同时使所选择的存储体一次推进。