Abstract: A handheld ultrasound device comprises a plurality of components configured to provide decreased size, weight, complexity and power consumption. The handheld ultrasound device may comprise an ultrasound transducer and an analog to digital (“A/D”) converter coupled to the ultrasound transducer. A processor comprising a beamformer can be coupled to the A/D converter and configured to selectively store a plurality of signals from the A/D converter in a memory of the processor. The beamformer can be configured to implement and compress a flag table in place of a delay table. These improvements can decrease the amount of memory used to generate ultrasound images, which can decrease the size weight and power consumption of the handheld ultrasound device.

Abstract: A handheld ultrasound device may comprise components configured to provide decreased size, weight, complexity, and power consumption. The handheld ultrasound device may comprise a beamformer configured to implement and compress a flag table in place of a delay table. These improvements can decrease the amount of memory used to generate ultrasound images, which can decrease the size, weight, and power consumption of the handheld ultrasound device. Ultrasound image data on a handheld imaging probe can be compressed on the handheld imaging probe prior to transmission from the probe in order to decrease the amount of data transmitted from the probe. The compressed data may comprise compressed pixels to maintain spatial image resolution. The compression circuitry may comprise an amount of memory related to a dynamic range of the compressed data that is independent of the dynamic range of the input data, which can decrease memory, power consumption, and latencies.

Abstract: This disclosure generally relates to system design for a handheld ultrasound imaging system, which may generate an ultrasound image of tissue. The handheld ultrasound imaging system may comprise: an ultrasound transducer array to generate ultrasound waves comprising a wavelength; a processor coupled to the ultrasound transducer array, the processor configured with instructions that when executed cause the processor to: receive ultrasound data derived from the ultrasound transducer array and generate the plurality of ultrasound images, the plurality of ultrasound images comprising an axial resolution capable of resolving the tissue structure no more than the wavelength, and output the plurality of ultrasound images.

Abstract: A handheld ultrasound device comprises a plurality of components configured to provide decreased size, weight, complexity and power consumption. The handheld ultrasound device may comprise an ultrasound transducer and an analog to digital (“A/D”) converter coupled to the ultrasound transducer. A processor comprising a beamformer can be coupled to the A/D converter and configured to selectively store a plurality of signals from the A/D converter in a memory of the processor. The beamformer can be configured to implement and compress a flag table in place of a delay table. These improvements can decrease the amount of memory used to generate ultrasound images, which can decrease the size weight and power consumption of the handheld ultrasound device.

Abstract: Ultrasound image data on a handheld imaging probe can be compressed on the handheld imaging probe prior to transmission from the probe in order to decrease the amount of data transmitted from the probe. The compressed data may comprise compressed pixels to maintain spatial image resolution. The compression circuitry may comprise an amount of memory related to a dynamic range of the compressed data that is independent of the dynamic range of the input data, which can decrease memory, power consumption, and latencies. The compression circuitry can be configured to pipeline data such as image data in accordance with clock cycles, such that throughput of outputting data words is increased.

Abstract: Ultrasound image data on a handheld imaging probe can be compressed on the handheld imaging probe prior to transmission from the probe in order to decrease the amount of data transmitted from the probe. The compressed data may comprise compressed pixels to maintain spatial image resolution. The compression circuitry may comprise an amount of memory related to a dynamic range of the compressed data that is independent of the dynamic range of the input data, which can decrease memory, power consumption, and latencies. The compression circuitry can be configured to pipeline data such as image data in accordance with clock cycles, such that throughput of outputting data words is increased.