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US20100312106A9 - Ultrasound imaging beam-former apparatus and method - Google Patents

Ultrasound imaging beam-former apparatus and method Download PDF

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Publication number
US20100312106A9
US20100312106A9 US11/160,915 US16091505A US2010312106A9 US 20100312106 A9 US20100312106 A9 US 20100312106A9 US 16091505 A US16091505 A US 16091505A US 2010312106 A9 US2010312106 A9 US 2010312106A9
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Prior art keywords
signal
ultrasound
phase
outgoing
incoming
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Abandoned
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US11/160,915
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US20070016022A1 (en
Inventor
Travis Blalock
William Walker
John Hossack
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UVA Licensing and Ventures Group
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University of Virginia Patent Foundation
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Priority to US11/160,915 priority Critical patent/US20100312106A9/en
Publication of US20070016022A1 publication Critical patent/US20070016022A1/en
Publication of US20100312106A9 publication Critical patent/US20100312106A9/en
Priority to US13/210,890 priority patent/US9275630B2/en
Priority to US15/056,567 priority patent/US20170000458A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B8/00—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
    • A61B8/44—Constructional features of the ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic diagnostic device
    • A61B8/4483—Constructional features of the ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic diagnostic device characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer
    • A61B8/4494—Constructional features of the ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic diagnostic device characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer characterised by the arrangement of the transducer elements
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B8/00—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
    • A61B8/13—Tomography
    • A61B8/14—Echo-tomography
    • A61B8/145—Echo-tomography characterised by scanning multiple planes
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B8/00—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
    • A61B8/44—Constructional features of the ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic diagnostic device
    • A61B8/4483—Constructional features of the ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic diagnostic device characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B8/00—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
    • A61B8/44—Constructional features of the ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic diagnostic device
    • A61B8/4483—Constructional features of the ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic diagnostic device characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer
    • A61B8/4488—Constructional features of the ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic diagnostic device characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer the transducer being a phased array
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B8/00—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
    • A61B8/46—Ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic diagnostic devices with special arrangements for interfacing with the operator or the patient
    • A61B8/461—Displaying means of special interest
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B8/00—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
    • A61B8/52—Devices using data or image processing specially adapted for diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
    • A61B8/5207—Devices using data or image processing specially adapted for diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves involving processing of raw data to produce diagnostic data, e.g. for generating an image
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S15/00—Systems using the reflection or reradiation of acoustic waves, e.g. sonar systems
    • G01S15/88—Sonar systems specially adapted for specific applications
    • G01S15/89—Sonar systems specially adapted for specific applications for mapping or imaging
    • G01S15/8906—Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques
    • G01S15/8909—Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques using a static transducer configuration
    • G01S15/8915—Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques using a static transducer configuration using a transducer array
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/52—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00
    • G01S7/52017—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00 particularly adapted to short-range imaging
    • G01S7/52023—Details of receivers
    • G01S7/52025—Details of receivers for pulse systems
    • G01S7/52026—Extracting wanted echo signals
    • G01S7/52028—Extracting wanted echo signals using digital techniques
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/52—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00
    • G01S7/52017—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00 particularly adapted to short-range imaging
    • G01S7/52079—Constructional features
    • G01S7/5208—Constructional features with integration of processing functions inside probe or scanhead
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/52—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00
    • G01S7/52017—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00 particularly adapted to short-range imaging
    • G01S7/52085—Details related to the ultrasound signal acquisition, e.g. scan sequences
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10K—SOUND-PRODUCING DEVICES; METHODS OR DEVICES FOR PROTECTING AGAINST, OR FOR DAMPING, NOISE OR OTHER ACOUSTIC WAVES IN GENERAL; ACOUSTICS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G10K11/00—Methods or devices for transmitting, conducting or directing sound in general; Methods or devices for protecting against, or for damping, noise or other acoustic waves in general
    • G10K11/18—Methods or devices for transmitting, conducting or directing sound
    • G10K11/26—Sound-focusing or directing, e.g. scanning
    • G10K11/34—Sound-focusing or directing, e.g. scanning using electrical steering of transducer arrays, e.g. beam steering
    • G10K11/341—Circuits therefor
    • G10K11/346—Circuits therefor using phase variation
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B8/00—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S15/00—Systems using the reflection or reradiation of acoustic waves, e.g. sonar systems
    • G01S15/88—Sonar systems specially adapted for specific applications
    • G01S15/89—Sonar systems specially adapted for specific applications for mapping or imaging
    • G01S15/8906—Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques
    • G01S15/8959—Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques using coded signals for correlation purposes
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S15/00—Systems using the reflection or reradiation of acoustic waves, e.g. sonar systems
    • G01S15/88—Sonar systems specially adapted for specific applications
    • G01S15/89—Sonar systems specially adapted for specific applications for mapping or imaging
    • G01S15/8906—Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques
    • G01S15/8995—Combining images from different aspect angles, e.g. spatial compounding
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/52—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00
    • G01S7/52017—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00 particularly adapted to short-range imaging
    • G01S7/52023—Details of receivers
    • G01S7/52034—Data rate converters

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to ultrasonic diagnostic imaging systems and methods. More specifically, the preferred embodiments relate to a device and method for ultrasound imaging beam-forming that may be incorporated in a substantially integrated hand-held ultrasonic diagnostic imaging instrument.
  • Medical imaging is a field dominated by high cost systems that may be so complex as to require specialized technicians for operation and the services of experienced medical doctors and nurses for image interpretation.
  • Medical ultrasound which is considered a low cost modality, utilizes imaging systems costing as much as $250K. These systems may be operated by technicians with two years of training or specialized physicians. This high-tech, high-cost approach works very well for critical diagnostic procedures. However it makes ultrasound impractical for many of the routine tasks for which it would be clinically useful.
  • ultrasonic imaging systems utilize an array transducer that is connected to beamformer circuitry through a cable, and a display that is usually connected directly to or integrated with the beam-former. This approach is attractive because it allows the beamformer electronics to be as large as is needed to produce an economical system. In addition, the display may be of a very high quality.
  • the sub-beam-forming circuitry may be included in the probes assembly housing the ultrasonic transducer, thus minimizing the number of signals that are communicated between the probe assembly and the portable processor included in the imaging system.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 6,013,032 to Savord entitled “Beam-forming methods and apparatus for three-dimensional ultrasound imaging using two-dimensional transducer array,” describes an ultrasound imaging system including a two-dimensional array of ultrasound transducer elements that define multiple sub-arrays, a transmitter for transmitting ultrasound energy into a region of interest with transmit elements of the array, a sub-array processor and a phase shift network associated with each of the sub-arrays, a primary beam-former and an image generating circuit.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,602 to Savord, et al., entitled “Phased array acoustic systems with intra-group processors,” describes an ultrasound imaging apparatus and method that uses a transducer array with a very large number of transducer elements or a transducer array with many more transducer elements than beam-former channels.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,479 to Savord, et al., entitled “Phased array acoustic systems with intra-group processors,” describes an ultrasound imaging apparatus and method that uses a transducer array with a very large number of transducer elements or a transducer array with many more transducer elements than beam-former channels.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,211 to Smith entitled “Methods and systems for selective processing of transmit ultrasound beams to display views of selected slices of a volume,” describes the selection of a configuration of slices of a volume, such as B slices, I slices, and/or C slices.
  • I/Q data may also include analog/digital baseband demodulation, or use a Hilbert transform.
  • Using a demodulation based approach to generate I/Q data may necessitate significant extra circuitry on each channel, while use of the Hilbert transform may require a significant amount of memory to hold the raw RF data.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasound imaging beam-forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a protection circuit for use with an embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a protection circuit for use with an embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasound imaging beam-forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a conventional ultrasound imaging beam-forming apparatus
  • FIG. 6 are graphs of signals for use with an embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a signal receiver for use with an embodiment of the invention.
  • the present invention ultrasound imaging beam-former may be incorporated in an ultrasonic imaging system convenient enough to be a common component of nearly every medical examination and procedure.
  • the present invention ultrasound imaging beam-former provides the potential to have a broad and significant impact in healthcare.
  • the instant document identifies various clinical applications of the present invention ultrasound imaging beam-forming apparatus, but should not be limited thereto, and other applications will become attained as clinicians gain access to the system and method.
  • the present invention may improve significantly upon existing methods and/or apparatuses.
  • the present invention comprises an ultrasound imaging beam-former that may be used in a hand held ultrasonic instrument such as one provided in a portable unit which performs B-mode or C-Mode imaging and/or collects three dimensional (3-D) image data.
  • an ultrasound imaging beam-former includes, in a first aspect of the invention, an ultrasound imaging beam-former apparatus includes a signal generator for producing an outgoing signal, a transducer for converting the outgoing signal to outgoing ultrasound and for converting at least a portion of the outgoing ultrasound that is reflected to an incoming signal, the incoming signal having a period, and a signal receiver for processing the incoming signal, the signal receiver including, an in-phase sample- and-hold connected receivably to the transducer for sampling the incoming signal at an incoming time and outputting an in-phase amplitude of the incoming signal at substantially the incoming time, a quadrature sample-and-hold connected receivably to the transducer for sampling the incoming signal at substantially one-quarter of the period after the incoming time, the quadrature sample-and-hold outputting a quadrature amplitude of the incoming signal at substantially one-quarter of the period after the incoming time, a phase calculator connected receivably to the in
  • a method of beam-forming for ultrasound imaging includes generating an outgoing signal, transducing the outgoing signal to outgoing ultrasound, receiving at least a portion of reflected outgoing ultrasound, transducing the reflected ultrasound to an incoming signal having a period, sampling the incoming signal at an incoming time to produce an in-phase amplitude of the incoming signal, sampling the incoming signal at substantially one-quarter of the period after the incoming time to produce a quadrature amplitude of the incoming signal, calculating a phase at the incoming time based on the in-phase amplitude and the quadrature amplitude, and applying an illumination to the image point in substantial proportion to the phase.
  • a system for beam-forming for ultrasound imaging includes means for generating an outgoing signal, means for transducing the outgoing signal to outgoing ultrasound, means for transducing at least a portion of reflected outgoing ultrasound to an incoming signal having a period, means for sampling the incoming signal at an incoming time and outputting an in-phase amplitude of the incoming signal, means for sampling the incoming signal at substantially one-quarter of the period after the incoming time and outputting a quadrature amplitude of the incoming signal, means for calculating a phase at the incoming time, based on the in-phase amplitude and the quadrature amplitude and outputting the phase, means for measuring a difference between the outgoing amplitude and the magnitude, means for applying a first illumination to a image point in substantial proportion to the difference, and means for applying a second illumination to the image point in substantial proportion to the phase.
  • the device and method for ultrasound imaging beam-forming may be utilized with various products and services as discussed below, but is not limited thereto.
  • Technicians may attempt to insert needles into a vein based on the surface visibility of the vein coupled with their knowledge of anatomy. While this approach works quite well in thin, healthy individuals, it can prove extremely difficult in patients who may be ill or obese. It may be desirable to have a relatively small, inexpensive, and portable ultrasound imaging system for guiding the insertion of intravenous (IV) devices like needles and catheters into veins, or for drawing blood.
  • IV intravenous
  • Sleep apnea (obstruction of the air passage in the of the throat) may affect more than eighteen million Americans.
  • Obstructive sleep apnea may be among the most common variants of sleep apnea.
  • Obstructive sleep apnea may represent a significant risk to the patient. It is difficult and expensive to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea. Typical diagnostic methods require an overnight hospital stay in an instrumented laboratory. Many at-risk patients refuse this inconvenient testing regime and thus go undiagnosed. It may be desirable to have a relatively small, inexpensive, and portable ultrasound imaging system to aid in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea in a minimally obtrusive manner.
  • Ultrasound may be used to search for internal defects in metallic or ceramic parts in a broad variety of industrial applications.
  • Current systems may be cost effective, but may be unwieldy and acquire limited data, making it difficult to ensure that a thorough search has been performed. It may be desirable to have a relatively small, inexpensive, and portable ultrasound imaging system to aid in non-destructive evaluation.
  • C-Scan images may be produced to produce representations parallel to the skin's surface. It would be desirable for a low cost, system to be capable of producing C-Scan images. It may further be desirable to display data in the intuitive C-scan format to allow clinicians with little or no training in reviewing ultrasound images to make use of the device.
  • Ultrasound imaging devices may be too expensive for some applications. It may be desirable for an ultrasound imaging device to rely primarily or exclusively on receive side beam-forming to reduce or eliminate transmit-side circuitry, enabling the beam-former to be implemented using large scale integration or as software, and enabling system to be produced at a lower cost.
  • an ultrasound imaging device may rely primarily or exclusively on phase rotation for focusing, enabling the beam-former to be implemented using large scale integration or as software, and enabling system to be produced at a lower cost.
  • Ultrasound imaging devices may be insufficiently portable for some applications. It may be desirable for an ultrasonic imaging device to be of a small size to make it easy to carry the device in a pocket or on a belt attachment. This may make the device as convenient as a stethoscope and will thus open new applications. It may be desirable for an ultrasound imaging device to rely primarily or exclusively on receive side beam-forming to reduce or eliminate transmit-side circuitry, enabling the beam-former to be implemented using large scale integration or as software, and enabling the system to be made portable. It may further be desirable for an ultrasound imaging device to rely primarily or exclusively on phase rotation for focusing to reduce or eliminate transmit-side circuitry, enabling the beam-former to be implemented using large scale integration or as software, and enabling the system to be made portable.
  • a beam-former Since it would be desirable for a beam-former to be simple, small, and low cost, it would be further desirable for the size and speed requirements of digital memory in such a beam-former to be minimized. It would be further desirable for focusing to be performed solely by phase rotation of I/Q data, thus eliminating the need for some circuitry, and allowing some of the remaining circuitry to be implemented as an integrated circuit. This may also allow the use of slower memory and reduce the computational complexity of the beam-former.
  • I/Q data is generated by sampling an RF signal directly.
  • an analytic signal (I/Q data) is generated by sampling the received RF signal directly, in a manner analogous to the Hilbert transform.
  • focusing is implemented via phase rotation of this I/Q data.
  • Ultrasound imaging beam-former apparatus 100 may include a signal generator 102 for producing an outgoing signal 104 having an outgoing amplitude 106 at an outgoing time 108 , as shown in FIG. 6A .
  • outgoing signal 104 may be an electrical signal, an electro-magnetic signal, or an optical signal.
  • outgoing signal 104 is an optical signal
  • cross-talk between the circuits of ultrasound imaging beam-former apparatus 100 may be reduced or eliminated, since optical signals do not, in general, interfere with one another. This may allow ultrasound imaging beam-former apparatus 100 to be made smaller than an equivalent electronic device by increasing the density of the circuits.
  • outgoing signal 104 may be processed as an optical signal and converted to an electrical signal to drive a transducer.
  • An integrated circuit comprising ultrasound imaging beam-forming apparatus 100 may be implemented out of gallium-arsenide (GaAs) so that the both the optical circuits and the electrical circuits can be implemented on the same device.
  • GaAs gallium-arsenide
  • a transducer utilizing sono-luminescence to convert light directly into sound may be used, dispensing entirely with any need for an electrical-optical interface.
  • signal generator 102 may be a storage device, such as a read-only memory (ROM), an oscillator such as a crystal oscillator, a resonant circuit such as a resistor-inductor-capacitor (RLC) or tank circuit, a resonant cavity such as a ruby laser or a laser diode or a tapped delay line.
  • ROM read-only memory
  • oscillator such as a crystal oscillator
  • RLC resistor-inductor-capacitor
  • tank circuit such as a resonant cavity
  • ruby laser or a laser diode or a tapped delay line such as a ruby laser or a laser diode or a tapped delay line.
  • outgoing signal 104 may have been stored previously, to be read out when needed.
  • several versions of outgoing signal 104 may be stored for use with various objects 170 to be imaged.
  • Ultrasound imaging beam-forming apparatus 100 may thus be set to produce a signal appropriate for a particular object 170 to be imaged by choosing one of the stored versions of outgoing signal 104 .
  • outgoing signal 104 may be a sinusoid of varying frequencies.
  • outgoing signal 104 may be generated at an arbitrarily high clock speed and still be forced through filters of arbitrarily small bandwidth. This may be advantageous, for example, if a wide band signal is inconvenient.
  • a resonant circuit or a resonant cavity may work in a similar manner.
  • an oscillator may be used to produce a range of frequencies, from which a frequency that generates an optimum response may be selected.
  • outgoing signal 104 could be generated in a manner similar to a spreading code in a code division multiple access (CDMA) format cell phone system.
  • outgoing signal 104 would not need to be a pure sinusoid, but may be a code with a fixed repetition length, such as a Walsh or a Gold code. This may, for example, allow an autocorrelation length of outgoing signal 104 to be adjusted to enhance or suppress coded excitation of an incoming signal.
  • signal generator 102 is a tapped delay line it may be followed by an equalizer to bias or pre-emphasize a range of frequencies in outgoing signal 104 .
  • the equalizer may be an adaptive equalizer that operates on an incoming signal analogous to the sound reflected by the imaged object 170 .
  • the incoming signal could be measured and the result applied to the adaptive equalizer to compensate for frequency attenuation of the sound by amplifying one or more frequencies of the incoming signal or outgoing signal 104 as necessary. This may be useful if, for example, object 170 attenuates or absorbs sound to the point that no return signal is available for imaging.
  • the adaptive equalizer could be placed in parallel with signal generator 102 and in series with the incoming signal.
  • an equalizer could be placed in series with signal generator 102 .
  • the equalizer could emphasize a particular frequency or frequencies in outgoing signal 104 .
  • the equalizer may, for example, place a bias or pre-emphasis toward lower frequencies on outgoing signal 104 .
  • This embodiment may be appropriate if, for example, object 170 to be imaged is expected to have features that attenuate lower frequencies significantly more than higher frequencies to the extent that imaging may be difficult. The converse may be true as well, in that the equalizer may have a bias or pre-emphasis toward higher frequencies.
  • outgoing signal 104 may be amplified.
  • signal generator 102 may include a generator amplifier 158 for amplifying outgoing signal 104 .
  • Generator amplifier 158 may pre-emphasize certain frequencies of outgoing signal 104 to suit the attenuation characteristics of object 170 to be imaged as well.
  • Signal generator 102 may also include an oscillator to produce an appropriate modulation frequency, such as a radio frequency (RF) signal, with which to modulate outgoing signal 104 .
  • RF radio frequency
  • a transducer 110 may convert outgoing signal 104 to outgoing ultrasound 112 .
  • transducer 110 may be a piezoelectric element, a voice coil, a crystal oscillator or a Hall effect transducer 110 .
  • reversals of outgoing signal 104 produce vibration of a surface of transducer 110 at substantially the frequency of outgoing signal 104 .
  • reversals of outgoing signal 104 produce vibrations of a surface of transducer 110 at frequencies that are significantly higher or lower than the frequency of outgoing signal 104 , such as harmonics of outgoing signal 104 .
  • This vibration may, in turn, produce successive compressions and rarefactions of an atmosphere surrounding the surface of transducer 110 , also at substantially the frequency of outgoing signal 104 . If the frequency of outgoing signal 104 is substantially higher than a frequency at which sound may be heard, the successive compressions and rarefactions of the atmosphere may be termed ultrasound.
  • transducer 110 may include a plurality of transducers 110 .
  • plurality of transducers 110 may be arranged in an array 166 .
  • array 166 may be a linear array, a phased array, a curvilinear array, an unequally sampled 2-D array, a 1.5-D array, an equally sampled 2D array, a sparse 2D array, or a fully sampled 2D array.
  • outgoing ultrasound 112 may return to ultrasound imaging system 100 as reflected ultrasound 182 .
  • Reflected ultrasound 182 may be converted to an incoming signal 114 having a period 116 , as shown in FIG. 6B .
  • incoming signal 114 may be an electro-magnetic signal, an electrical signal or an optical signal.
  • incoming signal 114 may be amplified, pre-amplified, or stored.
  • outgoing ultrasound 112 may be delayed or attenuated partially by object 170 .
  • a first portion 174 of outgoing ultrasound 112 may be reflected immediately upon encountering a nearer surface 178 of object 170 while a second portion 176 of outgoing ultrasound 112 is not reflected until it encounters a further surface 180 of object 170 .
  • a round trip of second portion 176 will thus be longer than a round trip of first portion 174 , resulting in a delay of second portion 176 relative to first portion 174 , as well as delays of both first and second portions 174 , 176 relative to outgoing ultrasound 112 .
  • second portion 176 may be damped or attenuated by a material of object 170 . The delays may be measured for disparate points of object 170 , producing an image 168 of object 170 .
  • Apparatus 100 may include a signal receiver 118 for processing incoming signal 114 .
  • signal receiver 118 may be implemented as a digital signal processor 164 .
  • signal receiver 118 may be implemented as an integrated circuit.
  • Ultrasonic transducers associated with ultrasound imaging systems may be driven from a single terminal with the second terminal grounded.
  • a transducer may be used to transmit ultrasound signals as well as receive reflected ultrasound.
  • a signal received at a transducer may typically be several orders of magnitude smaller than the signal that was transmitted due to, inter alia, signal attenuation by the target tissue. Some of the signal may be lost due to transducer inefficiencies as well. It may be thus necessary to couple the transducer to a high-voltage transmit signal while the ultrasound is being transmitted, and then to a sensitive low-noise pre-amplifier while the reflected ultrasound is being received.
  • a switch that couples the transducer to the transmit and receive signals must be capable of withstanding high peak transmit voltages (typically 50-200 volts) while isolating the pre-amplifier input from those voltage levels, since they would otherwise destroy the pre-amplifier.
  • high peak transmit voltages typically 50-200 volts
  • the switches themselves may need to be implemented off-chip in a separate package from materials and devices that can withstand the high voltage transmit pulses.
  • ultrasound imaging system 100 may include a protection circuit 172 to allow both transmit and receive operations, as shown in FIG. 2 .
  • a piezoelectric transducer array 202 shown on the left, acts as an interface to a signal processor by converting electrical signals to acoustic pulses and vice versa. Images may be formed by transmitting a series of acoustic pulses from the transducer array 202 and displaying signals representative of the magnitude of the echoes received from these pulses.
  • a beam-former 214 applies delays to the electrical signals to steer and focus the acoustic pulses and echoes.
  • Image formation begins when a state of a transmit/receive switch (TX/RX switch) 204 is altered to connect the transducer elements 202 to individual transmit circuits.
  • transmit generators 206 output time varying waveforms with delay and amplitude variations selected to produce a desired acoustic beam. Voltages of up to 200 Volts may be applied to the transducer elements 202 .
  • the state of the TX/RX switch 204 is altered again to connect the transducer elements 202 to individual receive circuitry associated with each element.
  • Signals representative of incoming echoes may be amplified by pre-amplifiers 208 and time gain control (TGC) 210 circuits to compensate for signal losses due to diffraction and attenuation.
  • TGC time gain control
  • the transducer array 202 shown in FIG. 2 has one common electrode 212 , and the non-common electrodes may be multiplexed between high-voltage transmit and low-voltage receive signals.
  • This conventional TX/RX switch 204 is the source of considerable expense and bulk in typical ultrasound systems.
  • Ultrasound imaging beam-forming apparatus 300 may include a signal generator 302 for producing an outgoing signal 304 .
  • Ultrasound imaging beam-forming apparatus 300 may also include a transducer 306 for converting outgoing signal 304 to outgoing ultrasound 308 at a frequency of outgoing signal 304 .
  • transducer 306 may have a transmit side 314 forming an interface with outgoing signal 304 .
  • transmit side 314 may be connected operably to a transmit switch 318 .
  • transmit switch 318 may be an electronic switch, an optical switch, a micro-mechanical switch, a transistor, a field-effect transistor (FET), a bi-polar transistor, a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor, a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistor, or a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET).
  • Transmit switch 318 may be connected switchably to signal generator 302 and a ground 320 .
  • transducer 306 may convert at least a portion of reflected ultrasound 310 to an incoming signal 312 .
  • incoming signal 312 may be an electro-magnetic signal, an electrical signal, or an optical signal.
  • transducer 306 may have a receive side 316 forming an interface with incoming signal 312 .
  • receive side 316 may be connected operably to a receive switch 322 .
  • receive switch 322 may be an electronic switch, an optical switch, a micro-mechanical switch, a transistor, a field-effect transistor, a bi-polar transistor, a MOS transistor, a CMOS transistor, or a MOSFET transistor.
  • Receive switch 322 may be connected switchably to a signal receiver 324 and ground 320 .
  • transmit switch 318 may connect transmit side 314 to signal generator 302 for a first predetermined period of time while signal generator 302 generates outgoing signal 304 .
  • receive switch 322 may connect receive side 316 to signal receiver 324 for a second predetermined period of time while signal receiver 324 receives incoming signal 312 .
  • Transmit switch 318 may connect transmit side 314 to ground 320 during substantially second predetermined period of time while signal receiver 324 receives incoming signal 312
  • receive switch 322 may connect receive side 316 to ground 320 during substantially first predetermined period of time while signal generator 302 generates outgoing signal 304 .
  • transmit side 314 and receive side 316 are on separate transducers 306 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a receiver amplifier 160 for amplifying incoming signal 114 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a receiver pre-amplifier 162 for amplifying incoming signal 114 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a band-pass filter 164 for filtering incoming signal 114 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include an in-phase sample- and-hold 120 connected receivably to transducer 110 for sampling incoming signal 114 at an incoming time 122 and outputting an in-phase amplitude 124 of incoming signal 114 at substantially incoming time 122 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include an in-phase analog-to-digital converter 126 connected receivably to in-phase sample-and-hold 120 for assigning an in-phase digital value 128 to in-phase amplitude 124 and outputting in-phase digital value 128 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a quadrature sample-and-hold 130 connected receivably to transducer 110 for sampling incoming signal 114 at substantially one-quarter of period 116 after incoming time 122 , quadrature sample-and-hold 130 outputting a quadrature amplitude 132 of incoming signal 114 at substantially one-quarter of period 116 after incoming time 122 .
  • One-quarter of period 116 is merely exemplary.
  • Incoming signal 114 may be sampled at any appropriate interval or fraction of period 116 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a quadrature analog-to-digital converter 134 connected receivably to quadrature sample-and-hold 130 for assigning a quadrature digital value 136 to quadrature amplitude 132 and outputting quadrature digital value 136 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a magnitude calculator 138 connected receivably to in-phase analog-to-digital converter 126 and quadrature analog-to-digital converter 134 for receiving incoming time 122 , in-phase digital value 128 , and quadrature digital value 136 and outputting a magnitude 140 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a phase calculator 142 connected receivably to in-phase analog-to-digital converter 126 and quadrature analog-to-digital converter 134 for receiving incoming time 122 , in-phase digital value 128 , and quadrature digital value 136 and outputting a phase 144 .
  • incoming signal 114 may be band-pass filtered by band-pass filter 164 and diverted to in-phase sample-and-hold 120 and quadrature sample-and-hold 130 .
  • An in-phase clock signal 184 driving in-phase sample-and-hold 120 may be of the same frequency as a quadrature clock signal 186 driving quadrature sample-and-hold 130 .
  • Quadrature clock signal 186 may, however, be offset by a quarter of period 116 with respect to in-phase clock signal 184 at an assumed center frequency of incoming signal 114 .
  • An output of in-phase sample-and-hold 120 may be digitized by in-phase analog-to-digital converter 126 while an output of quadrature sample-and-hold 130 is digitized in quadrature analog-to-digital converter 134 , forming I and Q channel data.
  • Reflected ultrasound 182 may be considered to be real part of an amplitude and phase modulated complex exponential signal, or analytic signal.
  • the modulating signal may be expressed mathematically as:
  • Quadrature clock signal 186 has a time lag of a quarter period at the assumed center frequency relative to the in-phase clock signal 184 , as shown 1 schematically in FIG. 7 . Therefore the relative time lag is: 1 4 ⁇ f 0 , or ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ 2 ⁇ ⁇ 0 .
  • Equation 5 can now be rewritten as follows.
  • Q ⁇ ⁇ ( nT ) ⁇ ⁇ A ⁇ ( nT ) ⁇ cos ⁇ ( ⁇ 0 ⁇ ( nT + ⁇ 2 ⁇ ⁇ 0 ) - ⁇ ⁇ ( nT ) ) , n 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 ⁇ ... ⁇ ⁇ - A ⁇ ( nT ) ⁇ sin ⁇ ( ⁇ 0 ⁇ nT - ⁇ ⁇ ( nT ) ) ⁇ ⁇ Q ⁇ ( nT ) ( 8 )
  • Geometric time delays may be calculated and converted to phase delays at the assumed center frequency. Complex weights that implement apodization and focus with the calculated phase delays may be applied to the I/Q data.
  • signal receiver 118 may include an apodizer 146 for applying a difference 148 between outgoing amplitude 106 and magnitude 140 and applying a first illumination 150 - 1 to an image points 154 in substantial proportion to difference 148 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a phase rotator 152 for applying a second illumination 150 - 2 to image point 154 in substantial proportion to phase 144 .
  • apparatus 100 may include a second transducer 110 - 2 for converting outgoing signal 104 to second outgoing ultrasound 112 - 2 .
  • Some of second outgoing ultrasound 112 - 2 may return to second transducer 110 - 2 if it is reflected by object 170 as well.
  • Second transducer 110 - 2 may convert at least a portion of outgoing ultrasound 112 and second outgoing ultrasound 112 - 2 to a second incoming signal 114 - 2 having a second period 116 - 2 , as shown in FIG. 6C .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a second in-phase sample-and-hold 120 - 2 connected receivably to second transducer 110 - 2 for sampling second incoming signal 114 - 2 at incoming time 122 and outputting a second in-phase amplitude 124 - 2 of second incoming signal 114 - 2 at substantially incoming time 122 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a second in-phase analog-to-digital converter 126 - 2 connected receivably to second in-phase sample-and-hold 120 - 2 for assigning a second in-phase digital value 128 - 2 to second in-phase amplitude 124 - 2 and outputting second in-phase digital value 128 - 2 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a second quadrature sample-and-hold 130 - 2 connected receivably to second transducer 110 - 2 for sampling second incoming signal 114 - 2 at substantially one-quarter of second period 116 - 2 after incoming time 122 , second quadrature sample-and-hold 130 - 2 outputting a second quadrature amplitude 132 - 2 of second incoming signal 114 - 2 at substantially one-quarter of second period 116 - 2 after incoming time 122 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a second quadrature analog-to-digital converter 134 - 2 connected receivably to second quadrature sample-and-hold 130 - 2 for assigning a second quadrature digital value 136 - 2 to second quadrature amplitude 132 - 2 and outputting second quadrature digital value 136 - 2 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a second magnitude calculator 138 - 2 connected receivably to second in-phase analog-to-digital converter 126 - 2 and second quadrature analog-to-digital converter 134 - 2 for receiving incoming time 122 , second in-phase digital value 128 - 2 , and second quadrature digital value 136 - 2 and outputting a second magnitude 140 - 2 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a second phase calculator 142 - 2 connected receivably to second in-phase analog-to-digital converter 126 - 2 and second quadrature analog-to-digital converter 134 - 2 for receiving incoming time 122 , second in-phase digital value 128 - 2 , and second quadrature digital value 136 - 2 and outputting a second phase 144 - 2 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a second apodizer 146 - 2 for applying a second difference 148 - 2 between outgoing amplitude 106 and second magnitude 140 - 2 and applying a third illumination 150 - 3 to an image point 154 in substantial proportion to second difference 148 - 2 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a second phase rotator 152 - 2 for applying a fourth illumination 150 - 4 to image point 154 in substantial proportion to second phase 144 - 2 .
  • signal receiver 118 may include a summer 156 for combining difference 148 , second difference 148 - 2 , phase 144 , and second phase 144 - 2 before first, second, third, and fourth illuminations 150 - 1 - 150 - 4 are applied to image point 154 .
  • a method of beam-forming for ultrasound imaging may include the steps of generating an outgoing signal 104 having an outgoing amplitude 106 at an outgoing time 108 , transducing outgoing signal 104 to outgoing ultrasound 112 , receiving at least a portion of reflected outgoing ultrasound 112 , transducing reflected ultrasound to an incoming signal 114 having a period 116 , sampling incoming signal 114 at an incoming time 122 to produce an in-phase amplitude 124 of incoming signal 114 , assigning an in-phase digital value 128 to in-phase amplitude 124 sampling incoming signal 114 at substantially one-quarter of period 116 after incoming time 122 to produce a quadrature amplitude 132 of incoming signal 114 , assigning a quadrature digital value 136 to quadrature amplitude 132 , calculating a magnitude 140 at incoming time 122 based on in-phase digital value 128 and quadrature digital value 136 , calculating a phase 144 at
  • the method of beam-forming for ultrasound imaging may further include the steps of transducing outgoing signal 104 to second outgoing ultrasound 112 - 2 , receiving at least a portion of reflected outgoing ultrasound 112 and second outgoing ultrasound 112 - 2 , transducing reflected outgoing ultrasound 112 and second outgoing ultrasound 112 - 2 to a second incoming signal 114 - 2 having a second period 116 - 2 , sampling second incoming signal 114 - 2 at incoming time 122 to produce a second in-phase amplitude 124 - 2 of second incoming signal 114 - 2 , assigning a second in-phase digital value 128 - 2 to second in-phase amplitude 124 - 2 , sampling second incoming signal 114 - 2 at substantially one-quarter of second period 116 - 2 after incoming time 122 to produce a second quadrature amplitude 122 - 2 of second incoming signal 114 - 2 , assigning a second quadrature digital value 136 - 2
  • the method of beam-forming may be repeated to produce a plurality of image points 154 forming an image 168 .
  • image 168 may be viewed, used to guide insertion of a needle, used to guide insertion of a catheter, used to guide insertion of an endoscope, used to estimate blood flow, or used to estimate tissue motion.
  • plurality of image points 154 may be focused. In one embodiment, focusing may be repeated on reflected outgoing ultrasound 112 at plurality of image points 154 .
  • plurality of image points 154 may be along a line at a range of interest. In one embodiment, a line may be formed at a plurality of ranges to form a planar image. In one embodiment, the planar image may be a B-mode image. In one embodiment, plurality of image points 154 may lie within a plane at a range of interest. In one embodiment, plurality of image points 154 may form a C-scan. In one embodiment, the plane may be formed at multiple ranges. In one embodiment, several planes may form a complex 1-D image.
  • an envelope of magnitude 140 may be displayed.
  • phase 144 may be used to compensate for a path difference 148 between various transducers and object 170 .
  • a main lobe resolution and a side lobe level may be balanced based on magnitude 140 .
  • a sum squared error between a desired system response and a true system response may be minimized.
  • tissue information may be obtained through judicious pulse transmission and signal processing of received echoes with the current invention. Such information could be displayed in conjunction with or instead of the aforementioned echo information.
  • color flow Doppler as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,477 to Namekawa et al., entitled “Ultrasonic Diagnostic Apparatus,” hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
  • Another useful type of information is harmonic image data as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,074 to Averkiou et al., entitled “Ultrasonic Tissue Harmonic Imaging” and U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,277 to Chapman et al., entitled “Ultrasound Imaging System Employing Phase Inversion Subtraction to Enhance the Image,” both of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
  • Angular scatter information might also be acquired using a method described in a co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/030,958, entitled “Angular Scatter Imaging System Using Translating Apertures Algorithm and Method Thereof,” filed Jun. 3, 2002, of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
  • Speckle is a common feature of ultrasound images. While it is fundamental to the imaging process, many users find its appearance confusing and it has been shown to limit target detectability. A variety of so called compounding techniques have been described which could be valuable for reducing the appearance of speckle in ultrasound transducer drive images. These techniques include spatial compounding and frequency compounding, both of which are well described in the literature.
  • the well known techniques of spatial compounding may also be applied to the current invention.
  • the most conventional form of spatial compounding which we call two-way or transmit-receive spatial compounding, entails the acquisition of multiple images with the active transmit and receive apertures shifted spatially between image acquisitions. This shifting operation causes the speckle patterns obtained to differ from one image to the next, enabling image averaging to reduce the speckle pattern.
  • the transmit aperture is held constant between image acquisitions while the receive aperture is shifted between image acquisitions.
  • this technique reduces the appearance of speckle in the final image.
  • An aspect in fabricating a system like the present invention ultrasound imaging beam-forming apparatus is in construction of the transducer array. Both cost and complexity could be reduced by incorporating a transducer implemented using photolithographic techniques, i.e. the transducer is formed using micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS).
  • MEMS micro electro mechanical systems
  • the term “preferably” is non-exclusive and means “preferably, but not limited to.”
  • means-plus-function or step-plus-function limitations will only be employed where for a specific claim limitation all of the following conditions are present in that limitation: a) “means for” or “step for” is expressly recited; b) a corresponding function is expressly recited; and c) structure, material or acts that support that structure are not recited.
  • the terminology “present invention” or “invention” may be used as a reference to one or more aspect within the present disclosure.

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US20070016022A1 (en) 2007-01-18
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WO2004064620A2 (fr) 2004-08-05
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US20120053460A1 (en) 2012-03-01
US9275630B2 (en) 2016-03-01
CA2513446A1 (fr) 2004-08-05
CA2513447A1 (fr) 2004-08-05
ATE557296T1 (de) 2012-05-15
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Effective date: 20041216