KR20120138478A - Ultrasound imaging apparatus and method using synthetic aperture imaging - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an ultrasound imaging apparatus and a generating method, a plurality of points positioned on a predetermined scan line in response to a first transmission signal are transmitted to a probe and a first transmission signal corresponding to an ultrasound signal transmitted to a first focal point inside the object. Receiving a first received signal including information on any one of the points from the probe, transmitting a second transmitted signal corresponding to the ultrasonic signal transmitted to a second focal point different from the first focal point to the probe, 2 receiving a second received signal from the probe, the second received signal including other information about the point corresponding to the transmitted signal, generating received data of the scanline based on the first received signal and the second received signal, and receiving a predetermined frequency from the received data. The signal components of the band are separated and image data for displaying an ultrasound image is generated using the signal components.

Description

ULTRASOUND IMAGING APPARATUS AND METHOD USING SYNTHETIC APERTURE IMAGING

The present invention relates to an ultrasound imaging apparatus and method, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for generating an ultrasound image of an object.

The ultrasound imaging apparatus transmits an ultrasound signal toward a predetermined point inside the object and obtains an image of the inside of the object by using information of the ultrasound signal reflected from the inside of the object. Such an ultrasonic device is compact, inexpensive, and can be displayed in real time, and has high safety because there is no exposure to X-rays, such as an X-ray diagnostic device, a CT (Computerized Tomograghy) scanner, a magnetic resonance image (MRI) It is widely used as a diagnostic apparatus together with other image diagnostic apparatuses, such as a device and a nuclear medical diagnostic apparatus.

The quality of an ultrasound image is determined by resolution, contrast, penetration, frame rate, etc., and the method of transmission and reception, composition of the image, signal processing, and circuit characteristics. The performance may vary. Among these factors, since resolution is an important weighting index for determining the quality of an ultrasound image, efforts are needed to improve the resolution of the ultrasound image in various ways.

As a method for improving the resolution of an ultrasound image, a transmission and reception focusing technique has been introduced. In order to improve the lateral resolution of the ultrasound image, such transmission focusing is performed by focusing the ultrasound signals emitted by each element of the ultrasound transducer array by applying a time delay to each ultrasound signal to simultaneously reach a predetermined point in the object. Receive focusing is the distance that the ultrasonic signal reflected from a predetermined point of the object reaches each element of the ultrasonic transducer array, so that by delaying each ultrasonic signal that reaches each element, the ultrasonic signals reached at the same time It's made like it's reached.

And an ultrasound imaging apparatus generating reception data of a predetermined scan line based on a first reception signal and a second reception signal input from a probe as the ultrasound signals are transmitted to each of the first focal point and the second focal point forming the composite aperture. It may provide a method. In addition, it is possible to provide an ultrasonic imaging apparatus and a method for generating harmonic components from received data of a scan line obtained by transmission and reception dynamic focusing, and generating ultrasonic image data with improved resolution by using the separated harmonic components. have.

In addition, an ultrasound imaging apparatus and a method of generating the focal depth of a first focal point and a second focal point forming a composite aperture may be provided. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a computer-readable recording medium on which a program for executing the above method on a computer is recorded. The technical problem to be solved by this embodiment is not limited to the above-described technical problems, and other technical problems may exist.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the ultrasound imaging apparatus may include a first transmission signal corresponding to the ultrasound signal transmitted to the first focus inside the object and a second signal corresponding to the ultrasound signal transmitted to the second focal point different from the first focus. A transmitter configured to provide a transmission signal to a probe, a first received signal including information on any one of a plurality of points positioned on a predetermined scan line in response to the first transmission signal, and the second transmission signal A receiver which acquires a second received signal from the probe, the second received signal including other information about the point, a received signal processor for generating received data of the scan line based on the first received signal and the second received signal; Separating a signal component of a predetermined frequency band from the received data, and zero for displaying an ultrasound image using the signal component And a harmonic processing unit for generating phase data.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the method for generating an ultrasound image transmits a first transmission signal corresponding to an ultrasound signal transmitted to a first focal point inside an object to a probe, and corresponds to a predetermined scan line in response to the first transmission signal. Receiving a first received signal from the probe, the first received signal including information about any one of a plurality of locations located, a second corresponding to an ultrasound signal transmitted to a second focal point different from the first focal point Transmitting a transmission signal to the probe, receiving a second received signal from the probe, the second received signal including other information about the point in response to the second transmitted signal, the first received signal and the second received signal Generating received data of the scan line based on the step of separating signal components of a predetermined frequency band from the received data; And generating image data for displaying an ultrasound image by using the signal component.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing an ultrasound image generating method in a computer is provided.

Dynamic transmission focusing is generated by generating received data of a predetermined scan line based on the first received signal and the second received signal input from the probe as the ultrasonic signals are transmitted to each of the first focal point and the second focal point forming the composite aperture. An ultrasound imaging apparatus and a method of generating the same may be provided.

In addition, by separating the harmonic components from the received data of the scan line obtained by the transmission and reception dynamic focusing, and generating the ultrasound image data using the separated harmonic components, an ultrasound image that can provide an improved ultrasound image An apparatus and a generating method can be provided.

By determining elastically the focal depth of the first focus and the second focus forming the composite aperture, an ultrasound imaging apparatus and generation that can more effectively improve the resolution or signal-to-noise ratio of the ultrasound image using harmonic components without using additional resources It may provide a method.

1 is a block diagram of an ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram illustrating a transmitter 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view for explaining the concept of the focus, the virtual source and the virtual aperture according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view for explaining the concept of the transmission of the ultrasonic signal and the reception of the ultrasonic signal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a diagram for describing a positional relationship between focus points according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart illustrating an ultrasound image generating method according to an exemplary embodiment.

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings will be described embodiments of the present invention; In the following embodiments, only the configuration for generating an ultrasound image in order to prevent the gist of the present invention from being blurred will be described. However, one of ordinary skill in the art may understand that other general-purpose configurations may be added in addition to the configuration for generating the ultrasound image.

1 is a block diagram of an ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 uses an at least one transducer among a plurality of transducers included in the probe 30 to transmit an ultrasound signal to a predetermined focal point 21 within the object 20. Send. In this case, the ultrasound signal transmitted to the focus 21 may be transmitted through any one of the plurality of transducers, or may be transmitted through two or more of the plurality of transducers. In general, the transmission of ultrasound signals from two or more transducers to the focus 21 may mean transmission focus. Due to such transmission focusing, the resolution of the ultrasound image generated from the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 may be improved.

The ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 transmits an ultrasound signal to a focal point 21 inside the object 20 and another focal point included in another scanline by using at least one of the plurality of transducers. In other words, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 may transmit an ultrasound signal to the focal point 21 positioned in the first scan line, and then transmit the ultrasound signal to another focal point located in the second scan line. In general, the scanline is defined from each of the plurality of transducers toward the inside of the object 20. For example, a first scanline of the plurality of scanlines is defined toward the inside of the object 20 from a first transducer of the plurality of transducers, and a second scanline is defined from the second transducer 20 from the second transducer. Can be defined towards the inside. More specifically, the first scan line may mean an axial reference line orthogonal from a lateral reference line of the first transducer. In addition, the scanline may be defined differently according to the type of the plurality of transducers. For example, when the type of the plurality of transducers is linear array transducers, the plurality of scanlines are defined as a plurality of axial reference lines orthogonal to the lateral reference line formed from the array of the plurality of transducers. If the type of the plurality of transducers is curved array transducers, it may be defined as baselines formed radially from a baseline formed from the arrangement of the plurality of transducers.

The ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 transmits an ultrasound signal to a focus 21 positioned on the first scan line, and obtains a first received signal from any one of the plurality of transducers. In addition, the ultrasound signal is transmitted to another focal point located in the second scan line, and a second received signal is obtained from the same received transducer. Such a reception transducer refers to a transducer that receives a second reception signal together with a first reception signal among a plurality of transducers. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the reception transducer also includes the object 20. The ultrasound signal may be transmitted to the ultrasound signal, and an ultrasound signal may be received from the object 20. In other words, it is not to be construed that the receiving transducer is used only for the reception of the ultrasonic signal.

The ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 generates a reception signal of the reception transducer using the first reception signal and the second reception signal. In addition, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 generates received data of scan lines defined from the received transducer using the generated received signal. In this case, the scanline defined from the receiving transducer may be defined from the receiving transducer as described above. For example, a scanline defined from a receiving transducer may mean an axial reference line orthogonal to the lateral reference line of the receiving transducer.

The ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 may separate a signal component of a predetermined frequency band from the received data and generate image data using the signal component. In general, such a predetermined frequency band may be determined based on the center frequency of the transmission signals. For example, the predetermined frequency band may be determined as a frequency band centered on twice the frequency of the center frequency of the transmission signals. In addition, signal components of a frequency band centered on a frequency twice as large as a center frequency of transmission signals separated from the reception data may refer to second harmonic components of transmission signals or reception data. However, it is not limited to this.

The ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 generates image data using signal components separated from the received data, and generates an ultrasound image using the generated image data. In this case, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 may generate image data by using received data of scan lines different from the received data of the scan line defined by the receiving transducer. For example, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 generates image data for an ultrasound image by combining received data of a plurality of scanlines defined from a plurality of transducers, or scanlines defined by respective transducers. Image data may be generated using the received data, and an ultrasound image may be generated using the plurality of image data.

The ultrasound image refers to an image that graphically expresses the inside of the object 20. Such an ultrasound image may be classified into a B mode image and a Doppler mode image according to its type. In addition, the ultrasound image can be configured in the form of a two-dimensional, three-dimensional image. The present invention is not limited to a specific kind of the ultrasound image, and it is easy to be applied to various kinds of ultrasound images by those skilled in the art. In general, the 3D ultrasound image is suitable for providing a stereoscopic ultrasound image using x, y, and z axes. Such a 3D image may be generated using a 3D reception signal input to a plurality of transducers, or may be generated through a combination of a plurality of 2D image data. It is apparent that general contents for generating a 3D ultrasound image may be easily applied to the present invention by various known techniques.

The ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 transmits an ultrasound image to the display 40. One example of such a display 40 includes an apparatus for displaying an ultrasound image on a screen, paper, or space. However, this is not limitative.

Hereinafter, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 will be described in more detail.

Referring to FIG. 1, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 includes a transmitter 11, a receiver 12, a reception signal processor 13, a harmonic processor 14, an image generator 15, and a storage 16. do. However, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is just one embodiment of the present invention, and various modifications are possible based on the components shown in FIG. 1. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the field can understand. For example, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 may be configured to further include a probe 30.

The transmitter 11 transmits a transmission signal corresponding to the ultrasound signal transmitted to the predetermined focus 21 inside the object 20 to the probe 30. At this time, the probe 30 includes a plurality of transducers. For example, a plurality of transducers are arranged on one side of the probe 30. Each transducer receives a transmission signal from the transmitter 11, converts the received transmission signal into an ultrasonic signal, and transmits the ultrasound signal to the object 20. An example of such a transmission signal is an electrical signal, but is not limited thereto. In addition, each transducer receives an ultrasound signal from the object 20 in response to the ultrasound signal transmitted to the object 20. In this case, the received ultrasound signal may mean an ultrasound signal reflected or diffracted from the object 20 as a response signal to the transmitted ultrasound signal, but the response signal is not limited to the reflected or diffracted ultrasound signal and is not interpreted. . In addition, each transducer converts the received ultrasonic signal into a received signal and transmits it to the receiver 12. An example of such a transmission signal is an electrical signal, but is not limited thereto.

The probe 30 transmits an ultrasound signal to the object 20 based on a scan line defined from each of the plurality of transducers toward the inside of the object 20. Such a scanline is defined by each of a plurality of transducers. For example, in the case of linear array transducers, the plurality of scanlines may be defined as a plurality of axial reference lines orthogonal to the lateral reference line formed from the arrangement of the plurality of transducers. In general, such a scanline may be used as a reference line in generating an ultrasound image. For example, each of the preceding array transducers composed of 64 plurality of transducers defines 64 scanlines, and the probe 30 transmits an ultrasonic signal to the object 20 based on each of the 64 scanlines. Transmitting and generating received data of each of the 64 scan lines from the ultrasonic signal reflected from the object 20 in response to such transmissions, and generating the received image from the combination of the 64 scan lines. Can be used for However, this example has been described based on a two-dimensional ultrasound image represented by the axial y-axis consisting of the x-axis and the scan line of the lateral direction of the transducers, according to various embodiments of the present invention The lines may be divided into the z axis in addition to the x and y axes to generate the 3D ultrasound image.

The probe 30 transmits an ultrasound signal toward at least one focal point based on the plurality of scan lines, and receives an ultrasound signal from the object 20 in response to each transmission. At this time, the probe 30 transmits an ultrasonic signal toward a focus located at each of at least one scan line among the plurality of scan lines. In other words, the probe 30 transmits an ultrasonic signal toward each of one or more focal points included in each or all of the plurality of scan lines, and receives the ultrasonic signal in correspondence with each one transmission. In this case, the probe 30 may transmit the ultrasonic signal toward the focus using any one of the plurality of transducers, and focus the ultrasonic signals toward the focus using at least two of the plurality of transducers. It may be. Focusing the ultrasound signals into a focal point inside the object 20 may mean transmission focusing. In general, such transmission focusing may be performed by applying a transmission delay time to each of the transmission signals generated by the transmission unit 11. A more detailed description thereof will be made in more detail below.

The probe 30 receives an ultrasound signal from the object 20 using at least one of the plurality of transducers. The received ultrasound signal may refer to an ultrasound signal reflected or diffracted from the object 20 by the ultrasound signal transmitted to the object 20. The probe 30 may receive an ultrasonic signal by using any one of the plurality of transducers, and may receive the ultrasonic signals by using at least two or more of the plurality of transducers. Synthesizing the ultrasonic signals received from the object 20 by the plurality of transducers may mean receiving focus. In general, such reception focusing may be performed by applying a reception delay time to each of the received signals transmitted from the probe 30 to the receiver 12. A more detailed description thereof will be made in detail through the operation of the receiver 12.

Each transducer may convert the transmission signal received from the transmitter 11 into an ultrasound signal and convert the ultrasound signal received from the object 20 into a reception signal. In this case, one example of the transmission signal and the reception signal is an electrical signal, and the transducer converts an ultrasonic signal of a predetermined intensity from an electrical signal of a predetermined amplitude, and converts an ultrasonic signal of a predetermined intensity from an ultrasonic signal of a predetermined intensity. It may be composed of a device for converting an electrical signal. However, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the transducer may be implemented in combination with each of the elements for transmitting the ultrasonic signal (element) and the element for receiving the ultrasonic signal.

The transmitter 11 transmits a transmission signal to each of at least one transducer of the plurality of transducers in order to transmit an ultrasonic signal to at least one focal point located in any one of the plurality of scan lines. At this time, the transducer receiving the transmission signal, that is, the transducer for transmitting the ultrasonic signal to the focus may be one or a plurality. For example, the transmitter 11 transmits a transmission signal corresponding to the ultrasound signal transmitted to the first focus inside the object 20 to a transducer defining a first scan line among the plurality of transducers, and the first signal. The transducer defining the scan line may convert the received transmission signal into an ultrasound signal and transmit the ultrasound signal to the first focus point. For another example, the transmitter 11 may include a transducer defining a first scan line among the plurality of transducers to focus the plurality of ultrasonic signals at a first focal point located at the first scan line among the plurality of scan lines. The transmitter transmits a transmission signal to each of the 10 transducers around the left and right transducers defining the first scan line, and each of the 11 transducers receiving the transmission signal converts the received transmission signal into an ultrasonic signal. You can transmit to the focus. As described above, when the transmitting unit 11 transmits a transmission signal to each of the plurality of transducers, in order to focus the ultrasonic signals to the first focal point, the transmission signal transmitted to each of the plurality of transducers is different from each other. Transmission delay time may be applied.

The transmitter 11 generates a plurality of transmission signals in order to transmit an ultrasonic signal to each of the plurality of focus points. In detail, the transmitter 11 generates a first transmission signal corresponding to the ultrasound signal transmitted to the first focus inside the object 20, provides the first transmission signal to the probe 30, and a second focus at a position different from the first focus. The second transmission signal corresponding to the ultrasonic signal transmitted to the probe 30 is provided to the probe 30. For example, the transmitter 11 transmits the first transmission signal to each of at least one of the plurality of transducers to transmit or focus the ultrasound signal to the first focal point located in the first scan line, and transmits the first transmission signal to the second scan line. The second transmission signal may be transmitted to each of at least one of the plurality of transducers in order to transmit or focus the ultrasound signal to the located second focal point. In this case, the first focal point and the second focal point may be any one of virtual sources. This will be described in detail below.

2 is a diagram illustrating a transmitter 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the transmitter 11 transmits ultrasonic signals emitted from the transducers 1 to N, which are at least one of the plurality of transducers included in the probe 30, to the ultrasonic wave inside the object 20. In order to focus on one focal point 21, it is possible to provide the transmission signals with different transmission delay times to the transducers 1 to N, respectively. Specifically, the signal generator 111 generates a transmission signal, and the transmission signal is transmitted to the delay element 1 1121 to the delay element N included in the transmission signal delay unit 112, and the delay element 1 1121. The delay element N applies different transmission delay times to the received transmission signal, and the outputs of the delay element 1 1121 to delay elements N to which different transmission delay times are applied are transmitted signal amplifiers 113 composed of amplification elements. ) May be delivered to transducer 1 through transducer N. Through this, the ultrasonic signals output from the transducers 1 to N may be controlled to have the same phase when they reach the first focus 21 inside the object 20 based on different transmission delay times. Likewise, focusing the plurality of ultrasonic signals to the first focus 21 may be defined as transmission focusing. However, the configuration of Figure 2 for the transmission focusing is only one embodiment of the present invention, various modification embodiments by those skilled in the art of the present invention also belongs to the scope of the present invention. Do.

In general, dynamic transmission focusing refers to focusing an ultrasound signal a plurality of times with a plurality of focus points or a plurality of image points located on one scan line. For example, when the ultrasound signals are focused 10 times on the first scan line among the plurality of scan lines, the resolution of the ultrasound image may be improved. However, in consideration of the speed of the ultrasonic signal transmitted in the object 20, converging the ultrasonic signals 10 times with 10 focal points in one scan line may be an obstacle to real-time imaging. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter 11 focuses ultrasonic signals at different focus points on different scan lines, and acquires an ultrasound image by assuming that signals reflected from different focuses are virtual sources. Effectively enable dynamic transmission focusing. As such, the technique of acquiring an ultrasound image through a plurality of virtual sources may be represented by a synthetic aperture imaging technique. In particular, the technique of configuring the virtual source may be represented by Bi-Directional Pixel Based Focusing so that the virtual source is located in front of the probe so that the spherical wave propagates forward and backward of the virtual source.

3 is a view for explaining the concept of the focus, the virtual source and the virtual aperture according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to reference numeral 31 of FIG. 3, when ultrasonic signals are focused to a first focal point from a plurality of transducers constituting the transducer array, the beam width by the ultrasonic signals transmitted from the plurality of transducers is plural. It becomes gradually narrowed from the transducers to the first focal point and the beam width gradually increases after reaching the first focal point. This may be interpreted to approximate the form of reference numeral 32 issued by the ultrasonic signal at the virtual source of the position of the first focal point. Through this, a transmission focus such as the first focus may be analyzed as a virtual source, and one virtual source may be configured in one transmission. In general, the ultrasound signal transmitted from each of the plurality of transducers and the received ultrasound signal have information of all areas reached by the transmitted ultrasound signal and, when the beam width is spread wide enough, to image points on different scanlines Information will also be included. Thus, as shown at 33, three virtual sources form a virtual aperture. For example, referring to reference numeral 33 of FIG. 3, the first virtual source 331 and the second virtual source 332 may form the same virtual aperture. In addition, as shown at 33 in FIG. 3, the transmission area generated in each virtual source includes both information corresponding to the image points A and B. As shown in FIG. The ultrasonic signal transmitted from the virtual aperture arrives at image points A and B with different time delays and can derive the transmission dynamic focus through additional variable delay compensation for the transmission at the time of dynamic reception.

The receiver 12 acquires a first received signal from the probe 30 in response to the first transmission signal provided to the probe 30, and receives the first received signal from the probe 30 in response to the second transmitted signal provided to the probe 30. 2 Acquire a received signal. In general, the receiver 12 may obtain a first received signal and a second received signal from a receive transducer among the plurality of transducers. In other words, the receiving transducer receives the first ultrasound signal from the object 20 after the first ultrasound signal converted from the first transmission signal is transmitted to the first focus through at least one of the plurality of transducers, The first received signal is converted from the received first ultrasound signal, and the converted first received signal is transmitted to the receiver 12. In this context, the receiving transducer receives the second ultrasound signal from the object 20 after the second ultrasound signal converted from the second transmission signal is transmitted to the second focal point through at least one of the plurality of transducers. Then, the second reception signal converted from the received second ultrasound signal is transferred to the receiver 12. As such, the reception transducer receives the first ultrasound signal and the second ultrasound signal, respectively, in response to the ultrasound signals being transmitted to different focal points, that is, different virtual sources, at different times, and receive the first and second ultrasound signals, respectively. 2 is converted to the received signal.

The first received signal and the second received signal include information on at least one of a plurality of points located in a predetermined scan line. For example, the first received signal may include information about any one of a plurality of points located in a predetermined scan line, and the second received signal may also include other information about such a point. In general, such a scanline may mean a scanline defined from the above-described receiving transducer, and the points may mean image points or target points included in a predetermined scanline.

The receiver 12 may perform signal processing on the obtained first received signal and the second received signal, and may transmit the performed first received signal and the second received signal to the received signal processor 13. For example, the receiver 12 performs signal processing on the obtained first and second received signals, converts the received signals into digital signals, and converts the converted first and second received signals into the received signal processor 13. ) Can be delivered. To this end, the receiver 12 may include an amplifier, an A / D converter, an operator, a noise filter, and the like for signal processing. However, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the receiver 12 transmits the first received signal and the second received signal obtained from the received transducer to the received signal processor 13 without signal processing, and the received signal processor 13 Signal processing may be performed. In addition, the receiver 12 may perform signal processing on the first received signal and the second received signal, and store the performed first received signal and the second received signal in the storage 16.

The reception signal processor 13 generates a reception signal of the reception transducer using the first reception signal and the second reception signal. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the reception signal processor 13 applies a reception delay time to the second reception signal, synthesizes the second reception signal and the first reception signal to which the reception delay time is applied, and receives the reception signal of the reception transducer. Can be generated. This will be described in detail below.

4 is a view for explaining the concept of the transmission of the ultrasonic signal and the reception of the ultrasonic signal according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4, an operation of the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 according to an exemplary embodiment will be described in more detail.

Referring to reference numeral 41 of FIG. 4, the transducers 4 to 4 belonging to the group A of the plurality of transducers included in the probe 30 may be a first position positioned at the scan line L0 of the plurality of scanlines. Transmit ultrasound signals towards focal point f0. In this case, different transmission delay times may be applied to each of the first transmission signals transmitted to the transducers 4 to 4 belonging to the group A in order to focus the ultrasonic signals to the first focal point f0. Transducer 0, which is the receiving transducer of the plurality of transducers, receives the first ultrasonic signal as ultrasonic signals are transmitted from the transducers (4 to 4) belonging to the group A toward the first focal point f0.

In this context, the transducers (2 to 6) belonging to the group B of the plurality of transducers included in the probe 30 are ultrasonic toward the second focal point f2 located at the scan line L2 of the plurality of scanlines. Transmit signals. In addition, different transmission delay times may be applied to each of the second transmission signals transmitted to the transducers (2 to 6) belonging to the B group to focus the ultrasonic signals to the second focal point f2. Transducer 0, which is a receiving transducer of the plurality of transducers, receives the second ultrasonic signal as ultrasonic signals are transmitted from the transducers 2 to 6 belonging to the B group toward the second focal point f2.

In reference numeral 41, each of P1, P2, P3, and P4 means an image point. Also, such an image point is included in each of a plurality of scan lines defined from a plurality of transducers. For example, P1 and P2 are image points included in the first scan line L0. On the other hand, since P1 'is in the same concentric circle (dotted line display) centering on P1 and f0, the time when the ultrasonic signal arrives from P1' to the first focal point f0 located on the first scan line L0 is from P1 to the first focal point f0. Up to the time the ultrasonic signal reaches.

The first ultrasound signal and the second ultrasound signal input to the receiving transducer include information on the image point P1. In detail, the image point P1 is one of a plurality of image points included in the first scan line L0, and the first ultrasonic signal includes a component reflected from the image point P1, and the second ultrasonic signal also includes the image point P1 from the image point P1. Contains the reflected component. For example, the ultrasound signal transmitted from the transducer 0 belonging to the group A toward the first focal point f0 of the first scan line L0 reaches the image point P1 after the time of the path of Z1 and is reflected from the image point P1. The ultrasonic signal is input to the receiving transducer 0 after the time of the path of Z1. In addition, the ultrasonic signal transmitted from the transducer 2 belonging to the group B toward the second focal point f2 of the second scan line L2 reaches the image point P1 after the time of the path of Z2, and the ultrasonic signal reflected from the image point P1 Is input to receive transducer 0 after the time of the path of Z1. At this time, the point where the ultrasonic signal transmitted toward the first focal point f2 according to the second scan line arrives after the time of the path Z2 from the transducer 2 is on the same concentric image (dotted line display) centering on P1 and f2. Therefore, the time for arriving at the receiving transducer 0 from the point where the ultrasonic signal arrives is equal to the time for which the ultrasonic signal has traveled the path of Z1 from the image point P1 to the receiving transducer 0.

The reception signal processor 13 receives the first reception signal and the second reception signal from the reception unit 12, respectively, and generates a reception signal of the reception transducer using the received first reception signal and the second reception signal. For example, the reception signal processor 13 may apply a predetermined reception delay time to the second reception signal and synthesize the applied second reception signal and the first reception signal. The reception signal processor 13 may further receive a third reception signal from the reception unit 12, and further synthesize the third reception signal to the first reception signal, thereby generating the reception signal of the reception transducer. In this case, the third received signal is transmitted from the transducers belonging to the other group to another focal point located on another scan line, and then converted from the third ultrasound signal input to the received transducer. As described above, the reception signal generator 131 may generate a reception signal of the reception transducer, and correspond to each of the different ultrasound signals inputted to the reception transducer in response to the ultrasound signals being transmitted to the plurality of scan lines. The reception signal of the reception transducer may be generated by applying the reception delay time and synthesizing the applied ultrasonic signals.

The reception signal processor 13 may adjust a reception delay time applied to the second ultrasound signal so that the ultrasound signals reflected from each of the plurality of image points positioned in the scan line of the reception transducer may be added at the same time. For example, the reception signal processor 13 may arrange the phases of the ultrasonic signals reflected from the image point P1 to increase the phase of only the ultrasonic signals reflected from the image point P1, so that the second ultrasonic signal reflected from the image point P1 may be used. A predetermined reception delay time may be applied to the first ultrasound signal. Through this, the reception signal processor 13 enables dynamic transmission focusing on each of the image points located in the scan line defined from the reception transducer by using the virtual sources included in the virtual aperture.

In order to calculate the reception delay time applied to the second ultrasonic signal reflected from the image point P1, the relationship between Z2, Z1, and Z _f is expressed by Equation 1 below. In this case, X _f means the distance from the transducer 0 to the transducer 2, Z2 means the length of the path that the ultrasonic signal from the transducer 2 reaches the image point P1, Z1 is at the transducer 0 When the starting ultrasound signal reaches the image point P1, it means the length of the path, and Z _f means the depth of the first focus or the depth of the second focus when the depth of the first focus and the depth of the second focus are the same. . At this time, the depth of the first focal point is determined from the distance from any one of the plurality of transducers to the first focal point according to the first scanline. For example, the depth of the first focus means the distance from the transducer 0 to the first focus according to the first scanline.

[Equation 1]

When Z ₁ is replaced with vt / 2 in Equation 1, Equation 2 is expressed. At this time, t is time, v is the speed of the ultrasonic signal, t _d means the reception delay time of the second ultrasonic signal.

&Quot; (2) "

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the reception signal processor 13 may synthesize the ultrasonic signals received from each of the plurality of scan lines by applying different weights. For example, the reception signal processor 13 applies a weight of 1 to the first reception signal converted from the first ultrasound signal input from the first scan line L0 to the reception transducer, and receives the reception transformer from the second scan line L2. After applying a weight of 0.7 to the second received signal converted from the second ultrasonic signal input to the producer, and applying a weight of 0.5 to the third received signal converted from the third ultrasonic signal input from the third scan line L3, The received signal of the receiving transducer may be generated by combining the weighted first, second and third received signals. In general, applying a weight to focus may be referred to as apodization. The application of these different weights may be used to improve the resolution of the ultrasound image.

The reception signal processor 13 may generate reception data of a scan line defined from the reception transducer using the plurality of reception signals. In other words, the reception signal processor 13 may further use the reception signals of the transducers other than the reception transducer to generate the reception data of the scan line of the reception transducer. For example, the reception signal processor 13 may generate the reception data of the scan line of the reception transducer by combining the reception signal of the reception transducer and the reception signal of the transducer around the reception transducer among the plurality of transducers. Can be. For example, based on the reference numeral 41, the reception signal processor 13 may generate the reception data of the scan line L0 defined from the reception transducer 0 by combining the reception signal of the reception transducer 0 and the reception signal of the transducer 1. Can be. In addition, the reception signal processing unit 13 may store the reception signal or the reception data of the reception transducer in the storage unit 16.

The reception signal processor 13 applies a predetermined reception delay time to the reception signals of the surrounding transducers based on each of the plurality of image points included in the scan line of the reception transducer, and receives the received signals of the neighboring transducers. By synthesizing the reception signal of the reception transducer, it is possible to generate the reception data of the scan line defined from the reception transducer. Such a reception delay time may mean a reception delay time different from the reception delay time applied to the second reception signal. For example, the reception delay time applied to the second reception signal means only a reception delay time for applying a composite aperture technique by a virtual source, that is, for dynamic transmission focusing, and a reception delay applied to a reception signal of a neighboring transducer. The time may mean a reception delay time considering both dynamic transmission focusing and dynamic reception focusing at the same time.

In this way, the reception signal processing unit 13 is configured to generate the reception data of the scan line defined from the reception transducer so as to generate the reception data of the reception transducer in response to the ultrasound signals focused at the first focal point located on the first scan line. Acquiring a first received signal, acquiring a second received signal of the received transducer corresponding to ultrasound signals focused at a second focal point located on the second scan line, and using the first received signal and the second received signal It is possible to obtain a reception signal of the reception transducer and use at least one reception signal of the obtained reception signal and other transducers other than the reception transducer. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the reception signal processor 13 may include any one of transducers other than the first focal point of the first scan line or the second focal point of the second scan line and the reception transducer and the reception transducer. The relationship can be used to generate received data of the scanline defined from the receive transducer. In this case, the received data of the scan line defined from the receiving transducer reflects the change according to at least one or more image points included in the scan line defined from the receiving transducer.

The reception signal processor 13 combines the reception signal of the reception transducer with the reception signals of other transducers other than the reception transducer to generate reception data of the scan line defined from the reception transducer. At this time, the reception signal processor 13 may apply a predetermined reception delay time to the reception signals of the other transducers, and synthesize the received reception signal with the reception signal of the reception transducer. This reception delay time is applied to apply the synthetic aperture technique by the virtual source described above, that is, the reception delay time for dynamic transmission focusing and the reception signal of the surrounding transducer, that is, the reception for dynamic reception focusing. It can mean a concept that incorporates latency. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

For example, through reference numeral 42 of FIG. 4, the reception signal processor 13 generates a reception signal of another transducer, Transducer-1, to generate reception data of scan line L0 defined from the transducer 0, which is a reception transducer. Can be synthesized with the received signal of transducer 0. For example, a process of generating received data by the received signal processor 13 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be expressed as in Equation 3 below. Specifically, Equation 3 interprets the information of the image point P1 among the plurality of image points included in the received data, and reflects that the information of the image point P1 is extended to each of the plurality of image points.

&Quot; (3) "

Referring to reference numeral 42 of FIG. 4 and Equation 3, the reception delay time t _d (P1, X _f , Z _f , X _e ) to be applied to the reception signal of another transducer, Transducer-1, is the second scan. The focal length Z _f of the second focal point f2 of the line L2, the distance Z _p from the transducer 0 which is the receiving transducer to the image point P1, the position of the other transducer −1, and the like. Specifically, referring to 42 of FIG. 4, the second scan line L2 is defined from the coordinates of (X _f , 0), and the second focal point of the second scan line L2 is the coordinate of f2 (X _f , Z). _f ), the coordinate of transducer -1, the transducer around the receiving transducer, is (X _e , 0), and the scanline defined from the receiving transducer, transducer 0, is scanline L0, and scanline L0 is Assuming that it is defined from the coordinates of (0, 0), the reception should be applied to the received signal of the transducer -1, which is a transducer around the receiving transducer, to represent information about the image point P1 located on the scanline L0. The delay time t _d (P1, X _f , Z _f , X _e ) is expressed as in Equation 3. At this time, Xf means the distance from the transducer 0 to the transducer 2, X _e means the distance from the transducer 0 to the transducer -1, Z _f is the distance from the transducer 2 to the second focal point Z _p means the distance from transducer 0 to image point P1, and Z _t is on the same concentric circle centered on image points P1 and f2 from transducer 2 according to the second scan line L2. The distance to the point, r _r means the distance from the image point P1 to the transducer -1 can be calculated from Z _p and X _e .

If Z _p is replaced with vt / 2 from Equation 3, it is expressed as Equation 4. In this case, t is time, v is the speed of the ultrasonic signal, t _d (P1, X _f , Z _f , X _e ) means the reception delay time.

&Quot; (4) "

Assuming that the received signal of the transducer -1 is S (t, X _f , Z _f , X _e ), the received data of the scan line L0 defined from the transducer 0, the received transducer, is S _focused (t) It can be expressed as 5. In this case, A (t, X _e , X _f ) may be used as an appropriate function based on t, X _e , and X _f as the apodization factor described above.

[Equation 5]

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the reception signal processor 13 may generate the reception data of the scan line defined from the reception transducer using Equation 5. However, this description is only one of various embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the description.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the focal depth of the first focus and the focal depth of the second focus are the same. At this time, the focal depth of the first focal point is determined from the distance from any one of the plurality of transducers to the first focal point according to the first scanline as described above. Using reference numeral 4 of FIG. 4, the focal depth of the first focal point is the distance from the transducer 0 to the first focal point according to the first scanline, and the focal depth of the second focal point is the second from the transducer 2. It may be the distance to the focus.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of first focal points are positioned on the first scan line, a plurality of second focal points are located on the second scan line, and the receiver 12 receives a plurality of first focal points based on the plurality of first focal points. Receive the first received signals, and receive the plurality of second received signals based on the plurality of second focal points, and the receive signal processor 13 receives the received transformers using the first received signals and the second received signals. Receive data of a scan line defined from the producer may be generated.

5 is a diagram for describing a positional relationship between focus points according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, at least one of the plurality of transducers transmits an ultrasonic signal to each of the focal points f01 and the focal points f02 which are the first focal points positioned on the first scan line, and the receiver 12 transmits the focal point f01. In this case, as the ultrasonic signal is transmitted, one of the first received signals may be obtained from the receiving transducer, and as the ultrasonic signal is transmitted to the focal point f02, another first received signal may be obtained from the receiving transducer. In this context, at least one of the plurality of transducers transmits an ultrasonic signal to each of the focal points f21 and f22 which are the second focal points positioned on the second scan line, and the receiver 12 transmits the ultrasonic signal to the focal point f21. Accordingly, any one second received signal may be obtained from the receive transducer, and as the ultrasound signal is transmitted to the focal point f22, another second received signal may be obtained from the receive transducer. The reception signal processor 13 may generate the reception data of the scan line defined from the reception transducer by using the plurality of first reception signals and the plurality of second reception signals. The method of generating such received data is the same as described above through Equations 1 to 5, or can be easily inferred by those skilled in the art from the described contents, and will not be described below.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, any one of the plurality of first focal points has the same focal depth as any one of the plurality of second focal points, and another one of the plurality of first focal points is the plurality of second focal points. Have the same depth of focus as the other one of them. Referring to FIG. 5, the focal depths of the focal length f01 of the first scanline and the focal length f21 of the second scanline are the same, and the focal length of the focal length f02 of the second scanline and the focal length f22 of the second scanline is the same. Depth is the same.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the reception signal processor 13 generates reception data of a scan line defined from the reception transducer based on the plurality of first reception signals and the plurality of second reception signals. For example, the reception signal processor 13 first generates a first composite reception signal using any one of the plurality of first reception signals and one of the plurality of second reception signals, and then generates the plurality of first reception signals. Generate a second composite received signal using the other one of the signals and the other one of the plurality of second received signals, and generate a received signal of the received transducer using the first composite received signal and the second composite received signal. The received data may be generated using the plurality of received signals. For another example, the reception signal processor 13 first generates a first composite reception signal using the plurality of first reception signals, generates a second composite reception signal using the plurality of second reception signals, and The reception signal of the reception transducer may be generated using the first composite reception signal and the second composite reception signal, and the reception data may be generated using the plurality of reception signals. The method of generating such received data is the same as described above through Equations 1 to 5, or can be easily inferred by those skilled in the art from the described contents, and will not be described below.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the focal depth of the first focus and the focal depth of the second focus are different. At this time, the focal depth of the first focal point is determined from the distance from any one of the plurality of transducers to the first focal point according to the first scanline as described above. Referring to FIG. 5, at least one of the plurality of transducers transmits an ultrasonic signal to a focus f1, which is a first focus located on a first scan line, and the receiver 12 transmits an ultrasonic signal to a focus f1. Is transmitted to obtain any one first received signal from transducer 0, which is a receive transducer. In this context, at least one of the plurality of transducers transmits an ultrasound signal to a focus f2, which is a second focal point located on the second scanline, and the receiver 12 receives a transducer as the ultrasound signal is transmitted to the focal point f2. Obtain a second received signal from in-transducer zero. In addition, the reception signal processing unit 13 generates a reception signal of the transducer 0 which is a reception transducer using the first reception signal and the second reception signal, and uses the plurality of reception signals from the transducer 0 which is the reception transducer. Receive data of a defined scan line may be generated. At this time, the reception signal processor 13 may generate the reception data of the scan line defined from the transducer 0 which is the reception transducer using Equation 5. For example, in applying the equation (5), the reception signal processor 13 uses the depth of focus of f1 when the focus is located on the odd scan line as f1, and the focus is located on the even scan line as f2. Can be used as the focal depth of f2. Also, the reception signal processor 13 may generate received data of the reception transducer by applying different weights when the focal point is located on the odd scan line and when the focal point is located on the even scan line. The method of generating such received data is the same as described above through Equations 1 to 5, or can be easily inferred by those skilled in the art from the described contents, and will not be described below.

The harmonic processing unit 14 separates signal components of a predetermined frequency band from the received data and generates image data using the signal components. At this time, the harmonic processing unit 14 may determine such a frequency band based on the frequency twice the center frequency of the transmission signal. For example, when the center frequency of the transmission signal generated by the transmitter 11 is f, the harmonic processor 14 determines the center frequency of the signal component to be separated from the received data as 2f0, and corresponds to the frequency 2f0 from the received data. The signal component can be separated. For another example, when the center frequency of the transmission signal generated by the transmission unit 11 is f0, the harmonic processing unit 14 determines the center frequency of the signal component separated from the received data as 2f0, and sets the center frequency from the received data. Signal components in a constant frequency band of 2f0 can be separated.

The signal component separated from the received data may mean a second harmonic component. Such second harmonic component may be caused by non-linear propagation of an ultrasonic signal inside the object. In general, the ultrasound image using the second harmonic component is useful for improving the contrast to tissue issue (CTR) of the contrast medium to the tissue inserted into the human body. In addition, the second harmonic component of the received data is useful for improving the resolution of the ultrasound image.

The harmonic processing unit 14 separates signal components of a predetermined frequency band from the received data. In this case, the harmonic processing unit 14 may use a filter or a pulse inversion technique to separate signal components of a predetermined frequency band from the received data. For example, the harmonic processing unit 14 may apply a band pass filter or a high pass filter to the received data to separate signal components of a predetermined frequency band from the received data. As another example, the harmonic processing unit 14 may transmit two transmission signals of 180 degrees out of phase for every scan line, and then add the two received signals to obtain a second harmonic component. However, these examples are not intended to be construed as limited to the present invention.

The harmonic processing unit 14 generates image data using the separated signal components. At this time, the separated signal component is part of the received data of the scan line defined from the receiving transducer. The harmonic processing unit 14 may separate signal components from each of the received data of the plurality of scan lines, and generate image data using the plurality of signal components. In other words, the harmonic processing unit 14 may generate image data by combining signal components of the plurality of scan lines. In this case, the image data may be generated in various forms according to the type of the ultrasound image to be generated by the image generator 15. For example, the image data may be image data for generating a B mode ultrasound image or image data for generating a Doppler mode ultrasound image. As another example, the image data may be image data for generating a 2D ultrasound image or image data for generating a 3D ultrasound image. In addition, the harmonic processing unit 14 may further include general components for generating image data used for the ultrasound image. For example, the harmonic processing unit 14 may further include an interpolator for performing an interpolation technique.

The image generator 15 generates an ultrasound image based on the image data. For example, the image generator 15 may generate an ultrasound image by scan converting the image data according to the format of the display 40. In addition, the image generator 15 transmits the generated ultrasound image to the display 40. One example of such a display 40 includes an apparatus for displaying an ultrasound image on a screen, paper, or space. However, this is not limitative.

6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of generating an ultrasound image, according to an exemplary embodiment. The ultrasound image generating method according to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 includes steps processed in time series by the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 1. Therefore, although omitted below, the above descriptions of the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 may also be applied to the ultrasound image generating method according to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6.

In operation 61, the transmitter 11 transmits a first transmission signal corresponding to the ultrasound signal transmitted to the first focus inside the object to the probe 30. In operation 62, the receiver 12 receives a first received signal from the probe 30 including information about any one of a plurality of points positioned in a predetermined scan line in response to the first transmission signal. In operation 63, the transmitter 11 transmits a second transmission signal corresponding to the ultrasonic signal transmitted to the second focal point different from the first focal point to the probe 30. In operation 64, the receiver 12 receives a second received signal from the probe 30 including other information about a point in response to the second transmitted signal. In operation 65, the received signal processor 13 generates received data of the scan line based on the first received signal and the second received signal. In step 66, the harmonic processing unit 14 separates signal components of a predetermined frequency band from the received data. In operation 67, the harmonic processor 14 generates image data for displaying an ultrasound image by using signal components.

The ultrasound image generating method according to the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 6 may be written as a program executable on a computer and may be implemented in a general-purpose digital computer operating the program using a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes a storage medium such as a magnetic storage medium (e.g., ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, etc.), optical reading medium (e.g., CD ROM,

So far I looked at the center of the preferred embodiment for the present invention. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope of equivalents thereof should be construed as being included in the present invention.

10 ... ultrasonic imaging device
30 ... probe
11 ... transmitter
12 ... receiver
13 ... reception signal processing unit
14 ... harmonic processing section

Claims (19)

A transmitter configured to provide a probe with a first transmission signal corresponding to an ultrasound signal transmitted to a first focal point inside the object and a second transmission signal corresponding to an ultrasound signal transmitted to a second focal point different from the first focal point;
A first received signal including information on any one of a plurality of points positioned on a predetermined scan line in response to the first transmission signal, and other information on the point in response to the second transmission signal; A receiver configured to acquire a second received signal from the probe;
A reception signal processor configured to generate received data of the scan line based on the first received signal and the second received signal; And
And a harmonic processing unit for separating signal components of a predetermined frequency band from the received data and generating image data for displaying an ultrasound image using the signal components. The method according to claim 1,
The receiver may further comprise:
Obtaining a plurality of first received signals from the probe based on a plurality of first focal points positioned at a first scan line among a plurality of scan lines, and based on a plurality of second focal points positioned at a second scan line Obtain a plurality of second received signals from the probe,
The received signal processing unit
The ultrasound imaging apparatus generates received data of the scan line based on the plurality of first received signals and the plurality of second received signals. The method of claim 2,
The focus depth of the first focus of any one of the plurality of first focuses is different from the depth of focus of the first focus of the other one of the plurality of first focuses. The method of claim 2,
And a focal depth of one of the plurality of first focal points is equal to a focal depth of one of the plurality of second focal points. The method according to claim 1,
The first focus is located at a first scan line among a plurality of scan lines, the second focus is located at a second scan line among a plurality of scan lines, and a focus depth of the first focus is a focus of the second focus. Depth and other ultrasonic imaging devices. 6. The method of claim 5,
The focal depth of the first focal point is a distance from any one of a plurality of transducers included in the probe to the first focal point according to the first scan line. The method according to claim 1,
The transmitting unit,
And a transmission delay time is applied to the first transmission signal so that the plurality of ultrasound signals transmitted to the first focus are focused on the first focus. The method according to claim 1,
The received signal processor,
And a reception delay time applied to the second received signal, and generates received data of the scan line based on the applied second received signal and the first received signal. The method according to claim 1,
The received signal processor,
The ultrasound imaging apparatus determines a reception signal of the scan line based on the first reception signal and the second reception signal, and generates reception data of the scan line by using reception signals of scan lines different from the determined reception signal. . The method according to claim 1,
The harmonic processing unit,
And determining the frequency band based on a frequency twice the center frequency of the first transmission signal or the second transmission signal. The method according to claim 1,
The ultrasonic imaging apparatus,
And an image generator configured to generate the ultrasound image based on the image data. The method according to claim 1,
The ultrasonic imaging apparatus,
And a storage unit which stores the first received signal, the second received signal, and the received data. Transmitting a first transmission signal corresponding to an ultrasound signal transmitted to a first focus inside the object to the probe;
Receiving a first received signal from the probe, the first received signal including information about any one of a plurality of points positioned on a predetermined scan line in response to the first transmission signal;
Transmitting a second transmission signal to the probe, the second transmission signal corresponding to an ultrasonic signal transmitted to a second focal point different from the first focal point;
Receiving from the probe a second received signal comprising other information about the point in response to the second transmitted signal;
Generating received data of the scan line based on the first received signal and the second received signal;
Separating signal components of a predetermined frequency band from the received data; And
And generating image data for displaying an ultrasound image by using the signal component. The method of claim 13,
The transmitting of the first transmission signal to the probe may include transmitting a first transmission signal corresponding to an ultrasound signal transmitted to each of the plurality of first focal points positioned on the first scan line among the plurality of scan lines,
Receiving the first received signal from the probe, receiving first received signals corresponding to the first transmission signals from the probe,
The transmitting of the second transmission signal to the probe may include transmitting a second transmission signal corresponding to an ultrasound signal transmitted to each of the plurality of second focal points positioned on the second scan line among the plurality of scan lines,
Receiving the second received signal from the probe, receiving second received signals corresponding to the second transmission signals from the probe,
The generating of the received data of the scan line may include generating received data of the scan line based on the plurality of first received signals and the plurality of second received signals. 15. The method of claim 14,
A focal depth of a first focus of any one of the plurality of first focal points is different from a focal depth of a first focus of another one of the plurality of first focal points,
And a focal depth of one of the plurality of first focal points is equal to a focal depth of one of the plurality of second focal points. The method of claim 13,
The first focus is located at a first scan line among a plurality of scan lines, the second focus is located at a second scan line among a plurality of scan lines, and a focus depth of the first focus is a focus of the second focus. Depth and other methods of generating ultrasound images. The method of claim 13,
Generating received data of the scan line,
And applying a reception delay time to the second received signal and generating received data of the scan line based on the applied second received signal and the first received signal. The method of claim 13,
Separating the signal component,
And determining the frequency band based on a frequency twice the center frequency of the first transmission signal or the second transmission signal. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method of any one of claims 13 to 18.

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