Abstract: An ultrasound imaging device comprising a set of bins, wherein each bin includes a set of transducer elements. Additionally, a set of mode switches or multiplexers are associated with the set of bins, wherein the set of mode switches or multiplexers configure the set of transducer elements in each bin to form either a one-dimensional array providing a two-dimensional scan mode or a two-dimensional array providing a three-dimensional scan mode.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for processing ultrasound signals. An approximation signal is generated to approximate an undesirable component of an input signal. The input signal may represent an ultrasound (e.g., Doppler) echo from a body. The approximation signal is used to remove the undesirable component from the input signal, leaving an output signal, which may be further processed by an ultrasound measurement and/or imaging system.

Abstract: A method for extracting anatomical M-Mode displays of tissue velocity information along arbitrary curved polygons that can track curved organs such as myocard is described. The generated images can display the temporal velocity variations in a curved organ such as myocard in a single view. Time delays between events can be measured from these images. Furthermore, the invention describes how the time delay of characteristic events in temporal velocity evolutions and information derived from these velocity evolutions can be integrated into spatial time delay images that show the spatial propagation of the selected phenomenon. The characteristic events include switch in velocity direction, peak velocity, peak acceleration and similar aspects of tissue thickening. These characteristic events will be almost angle independent even if the tissue velocity is estimated with a Doppler technique along the propagation direction of the ultrasound beam.

Abstract: Method for determining the velocity-time spectrum of blood flow in a living body by means of an ultrasonic pulsed wave Doppler system, comprising:sequential transmission of pulsed ultrasonic waves and receiving a corresponding sequence of echo signals,sampling the received echo signals at one or more predetermined time delays after transmitted ultrasonic pulses, andprocessing said sequence of echo signal samples by frequency spectrum analysis to obtain a blood velocity spectrum comprising a number of velocity components within a range of expected blood velocity values, andrepeating said processing a plurality of times to obtain a velocity-time spectrum for substantially real-time display.

Abstract: Apparatus for endoscopic or gastroscopic examination of patients, comprising an endoscope (5) having a probe head (6) provided with an imaging transducer being preferably an ultrasonic or camera-based transducer, said endoscope (5) being adapted to be inserted through the mouth of the patient, and position detection means (7,15) to provide probe head position information which together with corresponding imaging examination results are adapted to be stored in recording means (24). As known per se the endoscope (5) has a visible distance scale or indication (15) along a length thereof. The position detection means comprise a small video camera (7) with a mounting device (7A) for holding the camera in a fixed position in relation to the patient's teeth and with the field of view of the camera covering said endoscope (5) and said distance scale or indication (15) thereon, at the point of entering the patient's mouth.

Abstract: A method for motion encoding of tissue structures in ultrasonic imaging for investigation of living bodies, comprising the steps of obtaining 2D or volumetric data sets (4) by ultrasonic measurements covering a selected region within a living body, localizing at least one tissue structure within said selected region, measuring the movement of said at least one tissue structure within said selected region by correlating said selected region between at least two instants of time, computing from said data sets with respect to said at least one tissue structure a local motion characteristic estimate, and visualizing said at least one structure as well as said motion characteristic estimate.

Abstract: A method for velocity estimation based on a complex demodulated doppler signal in a multi-gated doppler. The method is based on the autocorrelation function estimates of the complex demodulated doppler signal. Contribution to the correlation function from the receiver noise is found by measuring the noise in absence of echo signals. The obtained values are subtracted from the correlation estimates before further processing. A limited number of candidates for the true velocity are calculated from the autocorrelation function phase.

Abstract: A method for generating anatomical M-Mode displays for ultrasonic investigation of living biological structures during movement of the structure, for example a heart function, employing an ultrasonic transducer (21) comprises the acquisition of a time series of 2D or 3D ultrasonic images (22), arranging said time series so as to constitute data sets, providing at least one virtual M-Mode line (23) co-registered with said data sets, subjecting said data sets to computer processing on the basis of said at least one virtual M-Mode line, whereby interpolation along said at least one virtual M-Mode line is effected, and displaying the resulting computed anatomical M-Mode display (24) on a display unit.

Abstract: A method for real-time analysis and measurement of temporal tissue variations and ultrasonic signals which provides quality improvement of tissue images and qualitative and quantitative characterization of the size/shape of the imaged objects is described. A given number of image frames are stored and made available for digital data analysis. For each spatial coordinate, the temporal signal evolution or a derived temporal signal evolution is extracted. These evolutions are analyzed digitally and the resulting image can be displayed on a display unit as an improved 2D tissue image and/or an indicator image for a particular tissue or fluid category in the imaged scene. The resulting image can be further processed with a spatial filter investigating a plurality of neighboring scan lines and a plurality of neighboring ranges at each image coordinate and finally thresholded in order to obtain a binary indicator of the imaged objects that are detected in the combined time and space characterization.

Abstract: Ultrasound imaging of an object is effected by directing a first and a second ultrasound pulse emitted by a transducer along a beam propagation direction against an object to be imaged. The second pulse has a transducer-to-object propagation time greater than the first pulse, the propagation time difference being achieved by selectively varying the effective or acoustic distance between the transducer and the object. A second scanline signal returned from the object as an echo of the second pulse is time-shifted as a function of the propagation time difference and is subtracted from the first scanline signal returned from the object as an echo of the first pulse, thereby significantly reducing from the resulting signal reverberation echoes between the transducer and the object. Transducer arrangements for providing the relative propagation time difference of the first and second pulses operatively vary the acoustic distance between the transducer and the object.

Abstract: A transesophageal echo cardiography probe includes a cylindrical housing (1) and end cap (2), a rotatable axle (10) extending longitudinally along the housing, a motor (7) operable for rotating the axle (10), and a multielement ultrasonic transducer array (5) carried on and for rotation with said axle (10) for emitting an ultrasonic imaging beam. The array elements (5A) are connected to a flexible, first flat cable (11) that extends, preferably in an S-like undulating manner, radially-outwardly toward the end cap wall. The radially-outward end of the first cable (11) is connected to a second flat cable (12) which extends longitudinally along the housing (1) to the rearward end of the housing. The second cable (12) has an arcuate cross-sectional shape for facilitating its receipt in and extension through an arcuate passageway defined between the motor (7) and the inner periphery of the housing (1).

Abstract: A pulsed ultrasonic beam is swept over an image field and the backscattered signal is sampled for a multiplicity of timelags to obtain signals from a multiplicity of depths along the beam, the signals forming a two-dimensional set of range cells. A combination of the bandwidth and power of the signal from each range cell is utilized to identify those regions of the image field at which the blood velocity is sufficiently high that Doppler frequency aliasing occurs. These regions are then designated with a single color with strong contrast to the colors employed in the regions wherein the blood velocity is below this limit, so that the regions of high velocity flow are clearly delineated in the image. Where the velocity is sufficiently low that no frequency aliasing occurs, the mean Doppler shift is coded into a continuous distribution of colors for indicating the magnitude of the imaged velocities.

Abstract: A method for generating anatomical M-Mode displays for ultrasonic investigation of living biological structures during movement of the structure, for example a heart function, employing an ultrasonic transducer (21) comprises the acquisition of a time series of 2D or 3D ultrasonic images (22), arranging said time series so as to constitute data sets, providing at least one virtual M-Mode line (23) co-registered with said data sets, subjecting said data sets to computer processing on the basis of said at least one virtual M-Mode line, whereby interpolation along said at least one virtual M-Mode line is effected, and displaying the resulting computed anatomical M-Mode display (24) on a display unit.