Abstract: The preferred embodiments described herein provide a medical diagnostic ultrasonic transducer probe and imaging system for use with a position and orientation sensor. In one preferred embodiment, an ultrasonic transducer probe comprises a position and orientation sensor and a memory device comprising calibration data for the position and orientation sensor. The memory device is adapted to provide the calibration data to a medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging system coupled with the ultrasonic transducer probe. In another preferred embodiment, a medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging system comprises a memory device comprising a plurality of position and orientation sensor calibration data. Each of the plurality of position and orientation sensor calibration data is associated with a respective ultrasonic transducer probe family. In operation, identification of a probe family of an ultrasonic transducer probe is provided to the ultrasound system.

Abstract: An ultrasonic imaging system includes an auxiliary processor that is connected to the imaging system by an open-standard, high-speed digital data channel. The system processor of the imaging system directs some processing tasks to the imaging system for execution in the conventional manner. Other processing tasks (often associated with computationally intensive applications) are automatically routed to the auxiliary processor for execution. The data channels between the system processor and the auxiliary processor allow high-speed exchange of live video information such that the identity of the processor performing a particular application is transparent to the user.