Method and apparatus for receive beamformer system
US5685308A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 2, 1995 |
| Grant date | Nov 11, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 2, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S15/8997
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention includes a fully programmable plurality of multi-channel receivers, each receiver having a digital multi-channel receive processor and a local processor control. Each receive processor includes a first decimator, time delay memory, second decimator, and complex multiplier. The receive beamformer is a computationally efficient system which is programmable to allow processing mode trade-offs among receive frequency, receive spatial range resolution, and number of simultaneous beams received. Each local control receives focusing data from a central control computer and provides final calculation of per-channel dynamic focus delay, phase, apodization, and calibration values for each receiver signal sample. Further, this invention includes a baseband multi-beam processor which has a phase aligner and a baseband filter for making post-beamformation coherent phase adjustments and signal shaping, respectively. The phase aligner maintains scan-line-to-scan-line coherency, such as would be required for coherent image formation. Accordingly, the present system can operate under multiple imaging formats, using a variety of transducers and a variety of modes such as B-mode…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.