Method and apparatus for enhanced flow imaging in B-mode ultrasound
US6074348A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 23, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jun 13, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 23, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S15/8981
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method and apparatus for ultrasonically imaging flow directly in B mode employs a sequence of pulses transmitted to a transmit focal position, with the backscattered signals from this sequence being filtered to remove echoes from stationary or slow-moving reflectors along the transmit path. The resulting flow signals are superimposed on a conventional B-mode vector and displayed. A B-mode flow image is formed by repeating this procedure for multiple transmit focal positions across the region of interest. The filtering is performed in slow time (along transmit firings) using a high-pass "wall" filter (e.g., an FIR filter) with harmonic image feed-through and optionally B-mode (fundamental) feed-through. The resulting B-mode flow image has low clutter from stationary or slow-moving tissue or vessel walls, high resolution, high frame rate and flow sensitivity in all directions.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.