Abstract:
A Doppler ultrasound system for executing Doppler ultrasound tests. The Doppler ultrasound system employs an ultrasound probe (40), a vessel FORS sensor (20) and a Doppler ultrasound controller (60). In operation, an ultrasound probe (40) transmits an ultrasound beam through a bodily vessel (e.g., a blood vessel) for generating imaging data illustrative of an ultrasound image of fluid flow through the bodily vessel (e.g., blood flow through a blood vessel), and the vessel FORS sensor (20) is introduced into the bodily vessel for generating vessel sensing data informative of a reconstructed shape of the vessel FORS sensor (20) within the bodily vessel relative to the ultrasound probe (40). Responsive to the data, the Doppler ultrasound controller (60) estimates a parametric relationship between the fluid flow through the bodily vessel and a transmission by the ultrasound probe (40) of the ultrasound beam through the bodily vessel.
Abstract:
Existing gas pocket detection approaches are based on visual observations of B-mode ultrasound images showing comparisons between normal soft tissue and gas pockets, which are time-consuming and dependent on operator experience. The present invention proposes an ultrasound system and a method of detecting a gas pocket. The ultrasound system comprises: an ultrasound probe (110) for transmitting an ultrasound signal toward the ROI and acquiring an ultrasound echo signal reflected from the ROI along a plurality of scanning lines; an obtaining unit (130) for obtaining a second harmonic component of the ultrasound echo signal for each depth of a plurality of depths along each scanning line of the plurality of scanning lines; and a deriving unit (140) for deriving a change in a center frequency of the second harmonic component along with the depth.
Abstract:
An apparatus includes an imaging probe and is configured for dynamically arranging presentation of visual feedback for guiding manual adjustment, via the probe, of a location, and orientation, associated with the probe. The arranging is selectively based on comparisons between fields of view of the probe and respective results of segmenting image data acquired via the probe. In an embodiment, the feedback does not include a grayscale depiction of the image data. Coordinate system transformations corresponding to respective comparisons may be computed. The selecting may be based upon and dynamically responsive to content of imaging being dynamically acquired via the probe.
Abstract:
Disclosed is an ultrasound array comprising a plurality of ultrasound transducer elements (20) on a carrier (10), said carrier further carrying an actuator arrangement (30, 30′) of a material having an adjustable shape in response to an electromagnetic stimulus, e.g. an electro active polymer or optically responsive polymer, wherein the material is arranged to change the orientation of said ultrasound transducer elements in response to said stimulus. This facilitates configurable beam shaping and/or body contour matching with the ultrasound array. An ultrasound system (100) comprising such an ultrasound array is also disclosed.
Abstract:
A medical ultrasound acquisition-data analysis device acquires channel data (144) via ultrasound received on the channels, uses the acquired channel data to estimate data coherence and derive dominance of an eigen-value of a channel covariance matrix and, based on the estimate and dominance, distinguishes microcalcifications (142) from background. Microcalcifications may then be made distinguishable visually on screen via highlighting, coloring, annotation, etc. The channel data operable upon by the estimating may have been subject to beamforming delays and may be summed in a beamforming procedure executed in the estimating. In the estimating and deriving, both field point-by-field point, multiple serial transmits (116, 118) may be used for each field point. In one embodiment results of the estimating and deriving are multiplied point-by-point and submitted to thresholding.
Abstract:
An apparatus includes an imaging probe and is configured for dynamically arranging presentation of visual feedback for guiding manual adjustment, via the probe, of a location, and orientation, associated with the probe. The arranging is selectively based on comparisons between fields of view of the probe and respective results of segmenting image data acquired via the probe. In an embodiment, the apparatus includes a sensor which guides a decision that acoustic coupling quality is insufficient, the apparatus issuing a user alert upon the decision.
Abstract:
A diagnostic ultrasound system has a 2D array transducer which is operated with 1×N patches, patches which are only a single element wide. The “N” length of the patches extends in the elevation direction of a scanned 2D image plane, with the single element width extending in the lateral (azimuth) direction. Focusing is done along each patch in the elevation direction by a microbeamformer, and focusing in the lateral (azimuth) direction is done by the system beamformer. The minimal width of each patch in the azimuth direction enables the production of images highly resolved in the azimuthal plane of a 2D image, including the reception of highly resolved multilines for high frame rate imaging.
Abstract:
Issuance of ultrasound pulses to a volume and receiving echo data is followed by estimating, based on the received data, center frequency subvolume-by-subvolume. Distinguishing between heart and lung tissue occurs based on a result of the estimating, and may include automatically identifying a spatial boundary (332) between the heart and lung tissue (324, 328), or a user display of center frequencies that allows for visual distinguishing. The issuance can include issuing, ray line by ray line, pair-wise identical, and/or pair-wise mutually inverted, ultrasound pulses. Center frequency calculations may be made for incremental sampling locations of respective imaging depth along each of the A-lines generated from echo data of the rays. The distinguishing might entail averaging center frequencies for locations along an A-line, and applying a central frequency threshold to the average. The leftmost of the qualifying A-lines, i.e., that meet the threshold, may determine the spatial boundary in the current imaging plane.
Abstract:
A method for using an interactive visual guidance tool for an imaging acquisition and display system and configured for user navigation with respect to a blockage of a field of view detects, and spatially defines, the blockage. It also integrates, with the image for joint visualization, an indicium that visually represents the definition. The indicium is moved dynamically according to movement, relative to the blockage, of the field of view. The indicium can be shaped like a line segment, or two indicia can be joined in a “V” shape to frame a region of non-blockage. The defining may be based on determining whether ultrasound beams in respective directions are blocked. Included, for deriving the image, in some embodiments are imaging channels for receiving image data for which a metric of coherence, i.e., similarity among channel data, is computed. The determination for a direction is based on the metric for locations in that direction. One application is navigating an ultrasound probe between blocking ribs to achieve a standard cardiac view.
Abstract:
An interactive visual guidance tool for an imaging acquisition and display system and configured for user navigation with respect to a blockage of a field of view (216) detects, and spatially defines, the blockage. It also integrates, with the image for joint visualization, an indicium (244) that visually represents the definition. The indicium is moved dynamically according to movement, relative to the blockage, of the field of view. The indicium can be shaped like a line segment, or two indicia (244, 248) can be joined in a “V” shape to frame a region of non-blockage. The defining maybe based on determining whether ultrasound beams in respective directions are blocked. Included, for deriving the image, in some embodiments are imaging channels for receiving image data for which a metric of coherence, i.e., similarity among channel data, is computed. The determination for a direction is based on the metric for locations in that direction. One application is navigating an ultrasound probe between blocking ribs (208, 212) to achieve a standard cardiac view.