Abstract: A system includes an image guidance system with a memory with computer executable instruction, a processor configured to execute the computer executable instructions, and a display. The computer executable instructions cause the processor to: receive a three-dimensional model of vasculature from an ultrasound imaging system, receive a real-time optical feed of an interior of a cavity from an optical camera-based guidance system, receive a first tracking signal indicative of a first spatial location of a probe of the ultrasound imaging system, receive a second spatial location of the optical camera-based guidance system, and overlay the optical feed with the three-dimensional model based on the first and second tracking signals. The display is configured to visually present the optical feed with the three-dimensional model overlaid thereover.

Abstract: An ultrasound imaging system includes a probe and a console. The probe includes an elongate shaft with a long axis, a transducer array disposed the shaft along the long axis and configured to generate signals indicative of received echoes, and a motor with a position sensor configured to rotate the shaft within a predetermined arc. The console includes a beamformer configured to process the signals from the transducer array and generate at least a volume of data for each sweep of the transducer array along the arc. The console further includes a display configured to display the volume of data.

Abstract: A hearing device includes: first and second primary microphones for provision of first and second primary microphone input signals; a secondary microphone for provision of a secondary microphone input signal; a mixing module for provision of a mixer output based on a primary mixer input and/or a secondary mixer input, primary mixer input being based on the first and second primary microphone input signals, the secondary mixer input being based on the secondary microphone input signal; a processing unit configured to provide an electrical output signal; and a receiver for converting the electrical output signal to an audio output signal; wherein the mixing controller is configured to increase an amount of the secondary mixer input in the mixer output for a time period after a presence of a sound event is determined, and reduce the amount of the secondary mixer input in the mixer output after the time period.

Abstract: An imaging system includes transmit circuitry, a transducer array with an array of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer elements, a beamformer, a decoder and a display. The transmit circuitry includes a signal generator and at least one excitation coding scheme. The transmit circuitry combines an excitation signal generated by the signal generator with an excitation coding scheme of the at least one excitation coding scheme, generating a coded excitation signal. The array of transducer elements is excited with the coded excitation signal to emit ultrasound signals. The coding scheme does not introduce heating on the capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer elements. The array of ultrasonic transducer elements receives echo signals produced in response to the ultrasound signals interacting with structure and generates electrical signals indicative thereof.

Abstract: A system (502) includes an elongate ultrasound imaging probe (504) with a long axis and a top side that extends along the long axis. The elongate ultrasound imaging probe includes an elongate tubular handle (606; 1606), a head (1608), an elongate tubular shaft (608; 1610) between the elongate tubular handle and the head, and a transducer array (514) disposed in the head and configured to transmit in a sagittal plane, which is a plane that cuts through the long axis of the elongate tubular shaft, only in a direction extending out from the top side. The elongate tubular handle is both not centered on the elongate tubular shaft and not shifted down in the sagittal plane away from the top.

Abstract: A system (102) includes an ultrasound probe (104). The ultrasound probe includes a probe head (202), a handle (208), and an elongate shaft (226) disposed between and coupling the probe head and the handle. The probe head houses a transducer array (114). The elongate shaft includes a first portion (232) coupled to the probe head and a second portion (234) coupled to the handle. The second portion includes a first end region (238) coupled to the handle. The second portion further includes a second end region (236) extending above the handle and coupled to the first portion such that a line of site from behind the probe to the probe head is visually unobstructed by the handle.

Abstract: An ultrasound imaging system includes a biplane ultrasound probe and a console. The biplane ultrasound probe includes a sagittal array and a transverse array. The console includes a transmit circuit, a receive circuit, and an image generator. The transmit circuit is configured to control the sagittal and transverse arrays to emit ultrasound signals while the probe is manually rotated and translated. The receive circuit is configured to receive electrical signal produced by the sagittal and transverse arrays in response to the sagittal and transverse arrays receiving echoes produced in response to the corresponding ultrasound signals interreacting with structure. The image generator is configured to construct a three-dimensional image with the electrical signals from the sagittal or transverse array using the electrical signals from both the sagittal and transverse arrays to track the motion of the probe and align scanplanes.

Abstract: An ultrasound imaging system include a console with transmit circuitry configured to generate an excitation electrical pulse that excites transducer elements of a probe to produce an ultrasound pressure field and configured to receive an echo signal generated in response to the ultrasound pressure field interacting with tissue. The console further includes receive circuitry configured to convert the echo signal into an electrical signal, and an echo processor configured to generate a live ultrasound image based on the electrical signal into. The console further includes a tracking processor configured to extract, in real-time, a feature common to both the live ultrasound image and previously generated volumetric image data from at least the live ultrasound image, and register, in real-time, the live ultrasound image with previously generated volumetric image data based on the common feature extracted in real-time to create the fused image. A display displays the fused image.

Abstract: A 3-D endocavity ultrasound probe includes an instrument holder having a channel configured to guide an instrument. The 3-D endocavity ultrasound probe further includes an elongate shaft with a center line, a first side, a second opposing side with a recess configured to receive the instrument holder over the center line, and a drive system disposed in the first side and not over the center line. The 3-D endocavity ultrasound probe further includes a probe head disposed at an end of the shaft. The probe head includes a rotatable support and a transducer array coupled to the rotatable support. The drive system is configured to rotate the rotatable transducer array support thereby rotating the transducer array. The channel extends along the center line thereby providing an instrument path in-plane with a sagittal plane of the elongate shaft.

Abstract: A hearing device includes: first and second primary microphones for provision of first and second primary microphone input signals; a secondary microphone for provision of a secondary microphone input signal; a mixing module for provision of a mixer output based on a primary mixer input and/or a secondary mixer input, primary mixer input being based on the first and second primary microphone input signals, the secondary mixer input being based on the secondary microphone input signal; a processing unit configured to provide an electrical output signal; and a receiver for converting the electrical output signal to an audio output signal; wherein the mixing controller is configured to increase an amount of the secondary mixer input in the mixer output for a time period after a presence of a sound event is determined, and reduce the amount of the secondary mixer input in the mixer output after the time period.

Abstract: An ultrasound imaging system includes a transducer array configured to transmit an ultrasound pressure field and receive an echo pressure field for a contrast-enhanced scan, and generate an electrical signal indicative of the received echo pressure field. The system further includes a signal processor configured to process the electrical signal and generate at least contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) data indicative of nonlinear signal in the electrical signal. The system further includes a microbubble processor configured to process the CEUS data and generate microbubble data based on a predetermined contrast-agent microbubble size, shape and adjacency for microbubbles of interest. The system further includes a display configured to display a microbubble image indicative of the microbubble data.

Abstract: A hearing device for enhancing speech intelligibility, the hearing device includes: an input transducer for providing an input signal comprising a speech signal and a noise signal; a processing unit; an acoustic output transducer coupled to the processing unit, the acoustic output transducer configured to provide an audio output signal based on an output signal form the processing unit; wherein the processing unit is configured to determine one or more parameters of the input signal based on a codebook based approach (CBA) processing; and wherein the processing unit is configured to perform a Kalman filtering of the input signal based on the determined one or more parameters so that the output signal has an enhanced speech intelligibility.

Abstract: An ultrasound imaging system includes a transducer array configured to transmit an ultrasound pressure field and receive an echo pressure field for a contrast-enhanced scan, and generate an electrical signal indicative of the received echo pressure field. The system further includes a signal processor configured to process the electrical signal and generate at least contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) data indicative of nonlinear signal in the electrical signal. The system further includes a microbubble processor configured to process the CEUS data and generate microbubble data based on a predetermined contrast-agent microbubble size, shape and adjacency for microbubbles of interest. The system further includes a display configured to display a microbubble image indicative of the microbubble data.

Abstract: An ultrasound imaging system includes an imaging probe including an array with a plurality of elements and a drive system configured to move the transducer array with a first pitch during data acquisition. A console includes a transmit circuit configured to excite the elements to transmit a first sequence of different sub-sets of the elements and then a second sequence, wherein the plurality of elements is offset from each other by a predetermined shift for the sequences. The console further includes a receive circuit configured to receive echo signals from the elements for the sequences. The console further includes a processor configured to beamform the received signals for the sequences and generate scanlines for the sequences and configured to combine pairs of scanlines across the sequences to produce a single sequence with a second pitch that is less than the first pitch.

Abstract: A system includes an image guidance system with a memory with computer executable instruction, a processor configured to execute the computer executable instructions, and a display. The computer executable instructions cause the processor to: receive a three-dimensional model of vasculature from an ultrasound imaging system, receive a real-time optical feed of an interior of a cavity from an optical camera-based guidance system, receive a first tracking signal indicative of a first spatial location of a probe of the ultrasound imaging system, receive a second spatial location of the optical camera-based guidance system, and overlay the optical feed with the three-dimensional model based on the first and second tracking signals. The display is configured to visually present the optical feed with the three-dimensional model overlaid thereover.

Abstract: An imaging system includes an ultrasound imaging probe, a display and a console. The console is electrically interfaced with the ultrasound imaging probe and the display. The console includes a rendering engine configured to visually present an ultrasound imaging image generated with data acquired by the ultrasound probe and a three-dimensional graphical representation of a portion of the probed superimposed over a predetermined region of the ultrasound image. The rendering engine is further configured to visually present the three-dimensional graphical representation in a spatial orientation of the probe with respect to a user.

Abstract: An ultrasound imaging system includes an imaging probe including an array with a plurality of elements and a drive system configured to move the transducer array with a first pitch during data acquisition. A console includes a transmit circuit configured to excite the elements to transmit a first sequence of different sub-sets of the elements and then a second sequence, wherein the plurality of elements is offset from each other by a predetermined shift for the sequences. The console further includes a receive circuit configured to receive echo signals from the elements for the sequences. The console further includes a processor configured to beamform the received signals for the sequences and generate scanlines for the sequences and configured to combine pairs of scanlines across the sequences to produce a single sequence with a second pitch that is less than the first pitch.

Abstract: A hearing device for enhancing speech intelligibility, the hearing device includes: an input transducer for providing an input signal comprising a speech signal and a noise signal; a processing unit; an acoustic output transducer coupled to the processing unit, the acoustic output transducer configured to provide an audio output signal based on an output signal form the processing unit; wherein the processing unit is configured to determine one or more parameters of the input signal based on a codebook based approach (CBA) processing; and wherein the processing unit is configured to perform a Kalman filtering of the input signal based on the determined one or more parameters so that the output signal has an enhanced speech intelligibility.

Abstract: A hearing device for enhancing speech intelligibility, the hearing device includes: an input transducer for providing an input signal comprising a speech signal and a noise signal; a processing unit; an acoustic output transducer coupled to the processing unit, the acoustic output transducer configured to provide an audio output signal based on an output signal form the processing unit; wherein the processing unit is configured to determine one or more parameters of the input signal based on a codebook based approach (CBA) processing; and wherein the processing unit is configured to perform a Kalman filtering of the input signal based on the determined one or more parameters so that the output signal has an enhanced speech intelligibility.

Abstract: An ultrasound imaging system includes a probe and a console. The probe includes an elongate shaft with a long axis, a transducer array disposed the shaft along the long axis and configured to generate signals indicative of received echoes, and a motor with a position sensor configured to rotate the shaft within a predetermined arc. The console includes a beamformer configured to process the signals from the transducer array and generate at least a volume of data for each sweep of the transducer array along the arc. The console further includes a display configured to display the volume of data.