Acoustic display system and method for ultrasonic imaging
US5622172A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 29, 1995 |
| Grant date | Apr 22, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 29, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S15/8979
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An ultrasonic imaging system has a three-dimensional acoustic display. Beam-formed ultrasound scan signals are separated into channel signals and are then filtered using head-related transfer function (HRTF) filters. An HRTF is associated with each of several points in an interrogation region. A filter coefficient processor selects, for each channel signal, a set of HRTF filter parameters according to which sample volume the channel signal comes from. Each HRTF parameter set defines left-ear and right-ear response functions to a calibration sound generated at a calibration point in a calibration space; the calibration point itself corresponds to a predetermined position in the interrogation region. The HRTF-filtered channel signals are then combined into left and right audio output signals which drive left and right speakers that the user listens to while performing the ultrasound scan. The calibration points in the calibration space are mapped to respective reference sample volumes located in a predetermined ultrasonic interrogation region.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.