Abstract: Systems, devices, and methods for performing ultrasound imaging are provided to advantageously determine the viscosity of an anatomy. According to one embodiment, a system for determining a viscosity of an anatomy includes an ultrasound transducer, a vibration source, and a processing system in communication with the ultrasound transducer and the vibration source. The processing system is configured to activate the vibration source to induce in the anatomy a first shear wave at a first frequency and a second shear wave at a second frequency, activate the ultrasound transducer to obtain ultrasound data representative of the anatomy that exhibits the first shear wave and the second shear wave, determine a first wave speed of the first shear wave and a second wave speed of the second shear wave, and determine the viscosity of the anatomy by comparing the first wave speed and the second wave speed.

Abstract: An ultrasound system includes a 3D imaging probe and a needle guide which attaches to the probe for guidance of needle insertion into a volumetric region which can be scanned by the 3D imaging probe. The needle guide responds to the insertion of a needle through the guide by identifying a plane for scanning by the probe which is the insertion plane through which the needle will pass during insertion. The orientation of the insertion plane is communicated to the probe to cause the probe to scan the identified plane and produce images of the needle as it travels through the insertion plane.

Abstract: Systems and methods for improving spectral-shift methods for calculating acoustic attenuation coefficients are disclosed. Systems, methods, and apparatuses for transmitting ultrasound pulse sequences for improved signal-to-noise outside the main passband of ultrasound transducers are disclosed. Systems, methods, and apparatuses for using the echoes from the transmitted pulse sequences to calculate the attenuation coefficient are disclosed.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system for shear wave measurement transmits push pulses in the form of a sheet of energy. The sheet of energy produces a shear wavefront which is a plane wave, which does not suffer from the 1/R radial dissipation of push pulse force as does a conventional push pulse generated along a single push pulse vector. The sheet of energy can be planar, curved, or in some other two or three dimensional shape. A curved sheet of energy can produce a shear wave source which focuses into a thin line, which increases the resolution and sensitivity of the measuring techniques used to detect the shear wave effect.

Abstract: A device and a method for computing a weighted-average-based position of a shear wave in a temporal domain based on a sampling of shear wave displacements along a propagation path of the shear wave. The weighted-average-based position is, for example, by displacement observed at a plurality of times that correspond to sampling, and represents a time of arrival of the shear wave at a location being sampled along the propagation path. Further, times of arrival of the shear wave at respective locations along the propagation path are functionally related to known inter-location distances to derive shear-wave group velocity. The derived shear-wave group velocity serves as an input into algorithms for estimating a shear elasticity of a medium, such as a body tissue, for purposes of a clinical diagnosis and therapy assessment.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system produces an image of shear wave velocities by transmitting push pulses to generate shear waves. A plurality of tracking lines are transmitted and echoes received by a focusing beamformer adjacent to the location of the push pulses. The tracking lines are sampled in a time-interleaved manner. The echo data acquired along each tracking line is processed to determine the time of peak tissue displacement caused by the shear waves at points along the tracking line, and the times of peaks at adjacent tracking lines compared to compute a local shear wave velocity. The resultant map of shear wave velocity values is color-coded and displayed over an anatomical image of the region of interest.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an ultrasound elastography system (10) for providing an elastography measurement result of an anatomical site (32) a corresponding method. The system (10) is configured to visualize a suitability for shear wave elastography of the region of interest (33) to the user within the ultrasound image (52) and/or to recommend an elastography acquisition plane (48, 50) for conducting shear wave elastography to the user. By this, proper selection of a location for an elastography measurement may be supported.

Abstract: An ultrasound system includes a 3D imaging probe and a needle guide which attaches to the probe for guidance of needle insertion into a volumetric region which can be scanned by the 3D imaging probe. The needle guide responds to the insertion of a needle through the guide by identifying a plane for scanning by the probe which is the insertion plane through which the needle will pass during insertion. The orientation of the insertion plane is communicated to the probe to cause the probe to scan the identified plane and produce images of the needle as it travels through the insertion plane.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system for shear wave measurement transmits push pulses in the form of a sheet of energy. The sheet of energy produces a shear wavefront which is a plane wave, which does not suffer from the 1/R radial dissipation of push pulse force as does a conventional push pulse generated along a single push pulse vector. The sheet of energy can be planar, curved, or in some other two or three dimensional shape. A curved sheet of energy can produce a shear wave source which focuses into a thin line, which increases the resolution and sensitivity of the measuring techniques used to detect the shear wave effect.

Abstract: The weighted-average-based position (244) in the temporal domain is computed based on the sampling of shear wave displacement (226) along the propagation path. The weighting is, for example, by displacement observed at times (230) corresponding to sampling and represents the time of arrival of the shear wave at the shear-wave propagation path location being sampled. In some embodiments, the computed shear-wave times of arrival at respective locations are functionally related to known inter-location distances (250) to derive shear-wave group velocity. The derived velocity can serve as input into known algorithms for estimating shear elasticity of the medium, such as body tissue, for purposes of clinical diagnosis and therapy assessment.

Abstract: An in vivo source of compression is used to cause a bodily structure of interest to expand and contract. Ultrasound signals are incident and their echoes are processed by a strain processor. Resulting strain images are freed from noise caused by external sources of compression. A tissue stiffness index is calculated to obtain quantitative measure of stiffness.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system produces an image of shear wave velocities by transmitting push pulses to generate shear waves. A plurality of tracking lines are transmitted and echoes received by a focusing beamformer adjacent to the location of the push pulses. The tracking lines are sampled in a time-interleaved manner. The echo data acquired along each tracking line is processed to determine the time of peak tissue displacement caused by the shear waves at points along the tracking line, and the times of peaks at adjacent tracking lines compared to compute a local shear wave velocity. The resultant map of shear wave velocity values is color-coded and displayed over an anatomical image of the region of interest.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method of ultrasonically imaging a region of interest that may contain anechoic and/or hypoechoic echoes. The method comprises the steps of: providing a first and a second set of ultrasound data, said two sets comprising information of the region of interest at two different instants of time respectively, determining from the first and second data sets, a temporal consistency value of at least an area of the region of interest, and producing an image indicating this area as being hypoechoic or anechoic in accordance with said temporal consistency value. Doing so, an anechoic image produced by the method of the invention emphazises the rendering of anechoic and/or hypoechoic areas over echoic ones.

Abstract: Ultrasound aberration, especially in transcranial imaging or therapy, is corrected by capturing the laterally two-dimensional nature of the aberration in the ultrasound being received, as by means of a two-dimensional receiving transducer array (104, 108). In some embodiments, transmissive ultrasound (164) is applied through the temporal window and is, for example, emitted from one or more real or virtual point sources (160) at a time, each point source being a single transducer element or patch or the geometrical focus of a collection of elements or patches. A patch may serve, in one aspect as a small focused transducer in the near field. A contralateral array (104, 108) is, in one version, comprised of the point sources.

Abstract: An in vivo source of compression is used to cause a bodily structure of interest to expand and contract. Ultrasound signals are incident and their echoes are processed by a strain processor. Resulting strain images are freed from noise caused external sources of compression. A tissue stiffness index is calculated to obtain quantitative measure of stiffness.