Abstract: Embodiments of the invention may provide an apparatus and method for forming an ultrasound image, wherein an ultrasound signal is transmitted and received along a scan line determined based on a virtual common point at each of a plurality of transducers. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the image frames (as many as desired) for forming a composite image may be obtained, thereby ultimately causing the quality of the ultrasound image to be enhanced.

Abstract: The present invention provides an ultrasound system for forming an ultrasound image by using a plurality of sub-frames, comprising: a plurality of transducers for transmitting and receiving ultrasound signals along a plurality of scan lines to obtain sub-frames; a determination unit for locating a common point where extensions of said scan lines with respect to the transducers intersect, determine a plurality of virtual common points based on the located common point and determine a plurality of transducer groups, steering angles and a plurality of scan-line groups; a controller responsive to a change of the sub-frames to select scan lines corresponding to the changed sub-frame and adjust steering angles of the selected scan lines based on the plurality of transducer groups, the steering angles and the plurality of scan-line groups; and a processor for synthesizing the plurality of sub-frames to form an ultrasound image.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention may provide a method for controlling scan lines, comprising the steps of: setting a plurality of virtual common points based on a common point at which the scan lines for the transducer elements intersect; setting a steering angle of each of the scan lines for the transducer elements in accordance with the respective virtual common point as set; and controlling the steering of each of the scan lines for the transducer elements based on the respective steering angle.

Abstract: Provided is a slave unit for a multimedia portable communication terminal, which can be used or carried independently of or as one body with the multimedia portable terminal. The slave unit includes a first extending module employed as the slave unit as being connected with the multimedia portable terminal in one of a wired and wireless manner, a second extending module employed as the slave unit as being connected in parallel with the first extending module, and a combining means for combining the first extending module with the second extending module as one body in parallel with each other.

Abstract: An ultrasound system comprises: a probe having a transducer array of n transducer elements for transmitting ultrasound signals, said n transducer elements being associated with respective scan lines; a steering angle calculating unit for calculating steering angles of the scan lines by using series determined by a relation between the steering angles of at least two scan lines; and a control unit for controlling transmission of the ultrasound signals such that the ultrasound signals can be focused along the scan lines based on the calculated steering angles of the scan lines.