Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for improving contrast-to-tissue ratio in ultrasound contrast imaging with subharmonic imaging

US6783496B2 · kind B2 · utility

4Cited by
9References
24Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateNov 1, 2002
Grant dateAug 31, 2004
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 1, 2022

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01S15/8963
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

The contrast-to-tissue ratio is improved while imaging contrast infused tissue. A subject is infused with contrast medium having microbubbles at a fundamental frequency. First and second transmit pulses are transmitted into the subject. The first and second transmit pulses each comprise first, or basic, and second, or seed, signals. The basic signal has a frequency based on the fundamental frequency and the seed signal has a subharmonic frequency based on the frequency of the basic signal. The first and second transmit pulses are phase inverted with respect to each other. Received echoes from first and second transmit pulses are filtered at a subharmonic or ultraharmonic frequency to remove tissue response and pass microbubble response.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.