Diagnostic ultrasonic imaging system and method for discriminating non-linearities
US6155981A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 25, 1998 |
| Grant date | Dec 5, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 25, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B8/488
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
In a diagnostic ultrasound imaging system, a sequence of more than two signals is transmitted into the interrogation of the patient's body. In one embodiment of the invention, the pulses are grouped as pairs that have an inverted phase, that is, one is time-domain negative of the other. In an alternative of this embodiment, the pulses need not be paired, but rather are generated with alternating phase characteristics. The return signals are then filtered to isolate (or suppress) return signal components corresponding to portions of the interrogation region with non-linear (or linear) response characteristics. In a second embodiment of the invention, three or more pulses are generated so that have non-equidistant relative phase distribution. By combining the return signals, linear return signal components are suppressed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.