Abstract: Placement of a medical device within or in proximity to a substantially fluid filled compartment within a human body is aided by pulse-echo ultrasound and a time-stretching technique. In one embodiment, a small ultrasound transducer is placed near the tip of a catheter intended to be positioned within a ventricle of the brain to drain cerebrospinal fluid. The transducer is electrically pulsed so as to emit sound waves, and then used to receive returning echoes which contain information about structures in front of the transducer. These returning echoes are electronically amplified and processed in such a way that the information represented by the echoes is spread out over a much longer period than the actual acquisition time. This processed information may be presented to an operator visually, via audio feedback and/or via tactile feedback. Embodiments are disclosed where the information is displayed visually through variations in the color or brightness of a light source over time.

Abstract: A system and method for providing real-time, image-guided high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) targeting and treatment of tissue. In one embodiment, the system includes an HIFU applicator and a user interface with a touchscreen display for three-dimensional visualization of the tissue. Image frames displayed on the user interface depict real-time images of the tissue, including an image parallel to a feature of the applicator and an image orthogonal to the parallel image. Reference lines may be sketched using the touchscreen and displayed on the image frames. In one embodiment, tissue boundaries are detected and marked on the image frames, either by the user or automatically by the system. In another embodiment, the user interface includes a footswitch for the user to interact with the system. In another embodiment, the system includes an ultrasound imaging component configured to undock from the system for use as a stand-alone ultrasound imaging device.

Abstract: Placement of a medical device within or in proximity to a substantially fluid filled compartment within a human body is aided by pulse-echo ultrasound and a time-stretching technique. In one embodiment, a small ultrasound transducer is placed near the tip of a catheter intended to be positioned within a ventricle of the brain to drain cerebrospinal fluid. The transducer is electrically pulsed so as to emit sound waves, and then used to receive returning echoes which contain information about structures in front of the transducer. These returning echoes are electronically amplified and processed in such a way that the information represented by the echoes is spread out over a much longer period than the actual acquisition time. This processed information may be presented to an operator visually, via audio feedback and/or via tactile feedback. Embodiments are disclosed where the information is displayed visually through variations in the color or brightness of a light source over time.

Abstract: A system and method for providing real-time, image-guided high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) targeting and treatment of tissue. In one embodiment, the system includes an HIFU applicator and a user interface with a touchscreen display for three-dimensional visualization of the tissue. Image frames displayed on the user interface depict real-time images of the tissue, including an image parallel to a feature of the applicator and an image orthogonal to the parallel image. Reference lines may be sketched using the touchscreen and displayed on the image frames. In one embodiment, tissue boundaries are detected and marked on the image frames, either by the user or automatically by the system. In another embodiment, the user interface includes a footswitch for the user to interact with the system. In another embodiment, the system includes an ultrasound imaging component configured to undock from the system for use as a stand-alone ultrasound imaging device.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system is provided which is capable of sending and receiving electronic messages directly from the user interface of the ultrasound system. This capability permits physicians to send messages, reminders, and diagnostic examination instructions directly to ultrasonographers using the system. The system operator is also able to call a physician to an ultrasound exam by means of an electronic message. Electronic messages can also be used to send and receive diagnostic reports and images, to retrieve diagnostic information such as the system presets for a particular type of ultrasonic examination, and to send and receive information from a hospital information system.

Abstract: A medical diagnostic ultrasound system is described in which ultrasonic B mode tissue information and Doppler flow information is acquired from a volumetric region of the body and processed in an interleaved sequence to render a three dimensional image. The three dimensional rendering processes the B mode and Doppler flow information to give priority to tissue information, flow information, or a blend of the two.

Abstract: An ultrasonic imaging system is provided which produces signals representative of tissue motion through amplitude detection of echo signals from which stationary clutter has been removed. Tissue motion may be distinguished from noise and flow signals on the basis of the dynamic range of the detected signals. The tissue motion signals may be displayed in combination with B mode signals to augment images of moving tissue, or in a two dimensional image in combination with B mode and Doppler image information. A sequence of gated tissue motion images of the heart may be displayed with each image of a different phase of the heart cycle displayed in a different color. The sequence may be played in a real time sequence, or the images accumulated in a common static image which overlay and hence mask one another, thereby revealing subtle differences in motion from one phase of the heart cycle to another.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system is provided which utilizes a multivariate processor to discriminate between Doppler power signals which were produced by moving tissue, and Doppler power signals which were produced by fluid flow. Discriminated moving tissue Doppler power signals are displayed in a three dimensional spatial presentation.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system is provided with a scanning guide which assists a user in conducting three dimensional ultrasonic scanning of a patient. The guide is visual or audible or both, and gives the physician a real time indicator by which to gauge the rate and duration of three dimensional ultrasonic scanning. In a constructed embodiment the scanning guide is modulated by a counter coupled to cine memory, in which image frames are stored for three dimensional processing. As the cine memory fills toward capacity with ultrasonic image frames, the scanning guide is modulated in correspondence with the filling of the memory. A visual indicator of the ultrasonic frame sequence in memory is also provided, on which the user can move markers to eliminate frames at the beginning or end of the sequence from the three dimensional reconstruction.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic system and scanning technique are described for producing three dimensional ultrasonic image displays utilizing power Doppler signal information. In a preferred embodiment the power Doppler signal information is displayed in the absence of structural (B mode) information to reduce image clutter and provide three dimensional image segmentation. An ultrasonic scanning technique is presented for acquiring diagnostic three dimensional ultrasonic images of power Doppler intensity through manual hand scanning of a patient, without the need for specially fabricated scanning mechanisms or devices.