Abstract: Various embodiments are described herein for an imaging device and associated method for performing fluence compensation on a photoacoustic (PA) image of at least a portion of an object for sets of RF acoustic response signals that are obtained using different illumination wavelengths. A first set of RF acoustic response signals is fluence matched to a second set of RF acoustic response signals by determining relative frequency data for first set of RF acoustic response signals relative to the second set of RF acoustic response signals and using the relative frequency data to filter the first set of RF acoustic response signals.

Abstract: A switch circuit connected to a transducer, a reception circuit connected to the switch circuit, a first switch element connected to a reception terminal provided between the switch circuit and the reception circuit, a first resistance element connected to a control terminal of the switch circuit, a second resistance element provided inside the reception circuit, and a second switch element provided inside the reception circuit are provided.

Abstract: The ultrasonic imaging apparatus includes: a display; a probe configured to acquire an ultrasound signal of a heart; and a controller configured to generate an ultrasound image of the heart based on the ultrasound signal, control the display to display the ultrasound image of the heart, and determine an exercise cycle of the heart based on the movement of at least one valve included in the ultrasound image, wherein the ultrasound image comprises an atrium and a ventricle of the heart.

Abstract: A guidance system for guiding insertion of a needle into a body of a patient utilizes ultrasound imaging or other suitable imaging technology. The guidance system can include an imaging device including a probe for producing an image of the internal body portion target, such as a blood vessel. The imaging device can be configured to provide at least one indication of status via sensory feedback based on a determined position of the needle, for example via a plurality of light-emitting diodes located on the device. One or more sensors can be included with the probe that can sense a magnetic field associated with the needle. The system may include a processor that can receive magnetic field data sensed by the at-least-one sensor to determine the position of the needle. The system can also include a display that depicts the determined position of the needle.

Abstract: Provided are a failure prediction system of an ultrasonic endoscope apparatus, a failure prediction method of the ultrasonic endoscope apparatus, and a non-transitory computer readable recording medium storing a failure prediction program of the ultrasonic endoscope apparatus capable of predicting a failure occurrence timing in the ultrasonic endoscope apparatus. A system controller includes an abnormality detection unit that acquires a reception signal of an ultrasonic vibrator of an ultrasonic endoscope and detects an abnormality of an ultrasonic endoscope apparatus including the ultrasonic endoscope, a storage control unit that stores information on the abnormality detected by the abnormality detection unit in association with time information, and a failure prediction unit that predicts a failure timing of the ultrasonic endoscope apparatus on the basis of the plurality of pieces of abnormality information stored by the storage control unit and time information corresponding the information.

Abstract: An intraluminal imaging device includes a flexible elongate member configured to be inserted into a lumen within a body of a patient, the flexible elongate member comprising a longitudinal axis; an imaging assembly coupled to the flexible elongate member, the imaging assembly comprising: a plurality of ultrasound transducer elements disposed around the longitudinal axis of the flexible elongate member; a plurality of controllers configured to control the plurality of ultrasound transducer elements to obtain imaging data associated with the lumen; and a plurality of electrical wires extending between the plurality of the ultrasound transducer elements and the plurality of controllers and configured to facilitate communication between the plurality of the ultrasound transducer elements and the plurality of controllers.

Abstract: An ultrasound endoscope includes: an insertion portion to be inserted into a subject; an ultrasound transducer that is provided at a distal end of the insertion portion and includes plural piezoelectric element groups configured to transmit and receive ultrasound; a connector portion that is provided on a proximal end side of the insertion portion and includes plural connectors to which an external device is connected; and a cable portion including plural first coaxial lines connected to the piezoelectric element groups configured to transmit the ultrasound to a first area, and plural second coaxial lines connected to the piezoelectric element groups configured to transmit the ultrasound to a second area, the first coaxial lines being shorter in length than the second coaxial lines, the first area and the second area being where the ultrasound is transmitted.

Abstract: A method for ultrasound imaging a target region including: (a) transmitting a tracking beam from at least a subset of the elements of the array to the region, each of the subset of the elements emitting a signal of the tracking beam with a respective transmission time shift; (b) receiving echo signals at at least some of the subset of the elements of the array, each echo signal being responsive to the tracking beam; (c) applying the time shift to at least some of the subset of the respective elements to the echo signals received at corresponding elements; (d) modifying the time shift and repeating (a)-(c) to provide an ultrasound dataset representing a recovered source element domain; (e) focusing and beamforming the dataset to map time signals of the dataset and combine channel signals to provide spatial pixel data; and (f) forming an ultrasound image from the spatial pixel data.

Abstract: A control apparatus detects a misalignment between an irradiation position of a transdermal treatment device and a target irradiation position. When the misalignment is detected, the control unit stops irradiation of the transdermal treatment device or moves the irradiation position closer to the target irradiation position.

Abstract: An ultrasonic endoscope includes: an ultrasonic transducer having an ultrasonic vibrator; a distal end portion body disposed continuously with a proximal end side of the ultrasonic transducer; an erecting base housing portion that is disposed in the distal end portion body and has an opening which opens toward one side in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the distal end portion body; a treatment tool lead-out port that communicates with the inside of the erecting base housing portion, an erecting base that is disposed in the inside of the erecting base housing portion and changes a lead out direction of a treatment tool led out from the treatment tool lead-out port; and a cleaning communication hole that is formed in a wall surface on a side opposite to a side where the opening of the erecting base housing portion is disposed and communicates with an outside.

Abstract: An ultrasonic includes: a piezoelectric layer; an absorbing layer disposed at a lower portion of the piezoelectric layer, configured to absorb an acoustic signal; and a connection part disposed between the piezoelectric layer and the absorbing layer. The connection part may deform at least partially so that a plurality of acoustic signals radiated from the piezoelectric layer due to the connection part have different magnitudes. In the case of the ultrasonic probe, since the magnitude of the acoustic energy radiated from the center of the ultrasonic probe is larger than the magnitude of the acoustic energy radiated from the side of the ultrasonic probe, the directivity of the ultrasonic signal is improved and a side lobe is decreased. In addition, an apodization effect capable of suppressing overlapping between adjacent phases can be obtained by using a difference in the magnitude of the acoustic energy to be radiated.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides an ultrasonic probe assembly and a method using the same. The ultrasonic probe assembly includes: a handle and a probe body separable from the handle; wherein the handle is configured to control movement of the probe body in a body of an examinee; the probe body includes an ultrasonic component for emitting ultrasonic waves to the body of the examinee and receiving reflected ultrasonic waves to generate examination information, and a driving component for driving the ultrasonic component to move to change a direction of the ultrasonic waves emitted by the ultrasonic component.

Abstract: Ultrasound apparatus and methods of processing signals are described. The ultrasound apparatus may include multiple channels. In some embodiments, signal processing techniques are described, which in some embodiments are performed on a per-channel basis. The signal processing techniques may involve using down-conversion and filtering of signals on multiple channels. The down-conversion and filtering may be done prior to beamforming.

Abstract: Provided is an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus including a probe configured to induce displacement in tissue of an object by irradiating a first focused beam of a first frequency to the object; and a processor configured to obtain a first ultrasound image of the object in which displacement has been induced; to determine whether the induced displacement is appropriate based on the obtained first ultrasound image; when the induced displacement is not appropriate, to control the probe to irradiate a second focused beam of a second frequency different from the first frequency to the object, so as to induce displacement in the tissue of the object; and to process a second ultrasound image of the object in which displacement has been induced by the second focused beam.

Abstract: An ultrasonic observation device is disclosed that has an input device having a touch pad connected, and that displays on a display an ultrasound image generated based on an ultrasonic signal received from an ultrasound transducer that transmits an ultrasonic wave to an object to be observed and receives a reflected ultrasonic wave reflected by the object, the touch pad detecting a contact object that is brought in contact by an operator. The ultrasonic observation device includes a display controller that displays a rotation indicator that indicates a rotation direction when the ultrasound image is rotated about a predetermined rotation reference as a center, such that the rotation indicator is superimposed on the ultrasound image displayed on the display, according to a contact position of the contact object on the touch pad.

Abstract: An ultrasound probe including a probe body having a mounting area and a flexible lip around said mounting area for sealing a space between the mounting area and a subject contacted by the ultrasound probe; and a number of ultrasound transducer elements mounted in the mounting area. The probe body further includes an inlet to said space and an outlet from said space for facilitating a fluid flow through said space when sealed. Also included are an ultrasound system including such an ultrasound probe and a method of subjecting a subject to ultrasound waves generated with such an ultrasound probe.

Abstract: An overlay system can include a substantially planar overlay base including a top side. The base can define a handle receptacle, for instance at a first end of the base. The handle receptacle can include a handle capture section optionally having a tapered profile. A centrally located elongated guide can extend longitudinally along the top side of the base to guide translational movement of the ultrasound probe holder along a longitudinal axis of the base. A handle can be configured to be attached and detached, by a user, with the handle receptacle of the base. The handle can define a channel optionally having a wedge profile. The wedge profile of the handle can correspond to the tapered profile of the handle receptacle. Engagement of the channel to the capture section of the handle receptacle can attach the handle to the base.

Abstract: An ultrasonic sensor includes a vibration plate, a first electrode, a piezoelectric body, and a second electrode. The first electrode is laminated on the vibration plate, that has a length along a surface of the vibration plate in a first direction, and that has a width Wbe along the surface of the vibration plate in a second direction that is orthogonal to the first direction. The width Wbe is not more than the length. The piezoelectric body is laminated on the first electrode and has a width Wpz in the second direction. The second electrode is laminated on the piezoelectric body. A ratio Wbe/Wpz between the width Wbe of the first electrode and the width Wpz of the piezoelectric body is not less than 0.1 and not more than 0.8.

Abstract: An ultrasonic imaging device includes an ultrasonic generating unit and an ultrasonic imaging processing unit. The ultrasonic generating unit repeatedly turns on N of M ultrasonic array elements of the ultrasonic probe multiple times as a group of array elements for linear scanning, and each scan is to emit an ultrasonic signal by each group of array elements and receive an echo signal of the ultrasonic signal. The ultrasonic imaging processing unit extracts a central echo signal from the echo signal in each scan to form a channel signal, and according to the arrival time of the echo signals, each central echo signal in the channel signal is delayed and summed to generate a modified channel signal. The modified channel signal is subjected to image synthesis process to obtain an ultrasonic image.

Abstract: Improved ultrasound imaging devices and methods of operating the devices that minimize grating lobe artifacts in an ultrasound image are provided. For example, an ultrasound imaging system analyzes the ultrasound data at different frequency bands and generates a grating-lobe-minimized image based on minimum signals identified for each pixel among the plurality of frequency ranges. In one embodiment, an ultrasound imaging system includes an ultrasound transducer array configured to obtain ultrasound data, and a processor in communication with the ultrasound transducer array. The processor is configured to receive the ultrasound data, generate an ultrasound image based on a first frequency range of the ultrasound data, generate a grating-lobe-minimized ultrasound image based on a plurality of second frequency ranges of the ultrasound data, combine the ultrasound image and the grating-lobe-minimized ultrasound image to generate a combined ultrasound image, and output the combined ultrasound image to a display.