US-12622671-B2 - Multi-position ultrasound system

Abstract

A compression assembly is coupled to the gantry of an ultrasound breast imaging system. The compression assembly includes a pair of compression paddles mounted on a positioning track. Each compression paddle houses a transducer and has a compression material surface for patient contact. A motor moves the compression paddles along the positioning track to immobilize the breast for ultrasound imaging.

Inventors

• Kenneth F. Defreitas
• Ian Shaw
• Kenneth Brooks
• Jay A. Stein

Assignees

• HOLOGIC, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20231030

Claims (19)

1. 1 . An ultrasound breast imaging system comprising: a gantry; and a compression assembly coupled to the gantry, the compression assembly comprising: a first compression paddle and a second compression paddle each mounted on a positioning track, each of the first and second compression paddles being supported by a support arm configured to pivotably couple the respective compression paddle to the positioning track, at least one of the first and second compression paddles housing a transducer; and at least one motor operatively coupled to both the first and second compression paddles along the positioning track for ultrasound imaging, wherein the first compression paddle is independently moveable by the at least one motor along a longitudinal direction of the positioning track relative to the second compression paddle, and wherein the second compression paddle is independently moveable by the at least one motor along the longitudinal direction of the positioning track relative to the first compression paddle; wherein the first compression paddle and the second compression paddle are configured to be parallel to each other in a first configuration, and coplanar with each other in a second configuration.
2. 2 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one motor is configured to translate the first and second compression paddles in a coordinated manner along the positioning track.
3. 3 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 2 , wherein the at least one motor is configured to contemporaneously translate the first and second compression paddles.
4. 4 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 2 , wherein the at least one motor is configured to simultaneously translate the first and second compression paddles.
5. 5 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 2 , wherein the at least one motor is configured to translate the first and second compression paddles in one or more directions along the positioning track.
6. 6 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second compression paddles each comprise a patient contact surface that faces each other.
7. 7 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the compression assembly is rotatably coupled to the gantry.
8. 8 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one motor is configured to translate the first and second compression paddles in opposite directions along the positioning track.
9. 9 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 8 , wherein: the positioning track comprises a reference location therein; and the at least one motor is configured to translate the first and second compression paddles one of toward each other and away from each other with respect to the reference location along the positioning track.
10. 10 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 9 , wherein the reference location is a central location of the positioning track.
11. 11 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one motor is configured to control each of the first and second compression paddles both independently and contemporaneously relative to one another.
12. 12 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one motor is configured to control the plurality of compression paddles so that the first compression paddle remains fixed while the second compression paddle undergoes a translation along the positioning track.
13. 13 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one motor is configured to control each of the first and second compression paddles to translate along the positioning track until at least one of the first and second compression paddles reaches a desired location.
14. 14 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one motor is configured to control the first compression paddle and the second compression paddle to translate along the positioning track until a surface of the first compression paddle and a surface of the second compression paddle contact opposite surfaces of a breast.
15. 15 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 14 , wherein the at least one motor is further configured to control at least one of the first compression paddle and the second compression paddle to translate along the positioning track until a desired compression of the breast between the first compression paddle and the second compression paddle is reached.
16. 16 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 15 , wherein the at least one motor is further configured so that one of the first compression paddle and the second compression paddle remains fixed in place while the other of the first compression paddle and the second compression paddle translates along the positioning track.
17. 17 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one motor is configured to control the first compression paddle and the second compression paddle to translate along the positioning track until a surface of one of the first compression paddle and the second compression paddle contact a breast.
18. 18 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second compression paddles has a patient contact surface comprising a compression material.
19. 19 . The ultrasound breast imaging system of claim 1 , further comprising a control structure coupled to the first and second compression paddles, the control structure comprising the positioning track and being rotatable.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/254,160, filed Dec. 18, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,832,989, which is a National Stage Application of PCT/US2019/038430, filed Jun. 21, 2019, and that claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/688,889, filed Jun. 22, 2018, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. To the extent appropriate, a claim of priority is made to each of the above disclosed applications. BACKGROUND Ultrasound breast imaging, also called ultrasound scanning or sonography, involves exposing breast tissue to high-frequency sound waves. As the sound waves reflect off different features within the breast, the reflections can be used to produce two and three dimensional images of the internal breast structure. Ultrasound images are captured in real-time and they advantageously show the structure and movement of the body's internal organs as well as blood flowing through blood vessels. Breast ultrasound may be used as part of breast cancer diagnosis to determine whether a lump is a benign fluid filled sac (i.e., a cyst) or a solid mass potentially indicative of cancer. Ultrasound can also be used during a breast biopsy procedure to determine three dimensional coordinates of an identified tumor in order to guide a medical professional during a biopsy or aspiration procedure. Ultrasound may be used to confirm correct needle placement and also validate removal of suspect tissue. Ultrasound imaging is recognized as a relatively low cost, safe imaging modality which provides information similar to that of conventional mammograms (and in some cases superior) for breast cancer detection without adverse effects of radiation. However the time required to perform a thorough ultrasound image capture makes the modality less desirable for breast cancer screening. During breast ultrasound examinations, an ultrasound transducer is typically manually moved over the portion of the body to be imaged. Two dimensional images are captured from various perspectives and assembled using image processing techniques known to those of skill in the art to construct a three-dimensional representation of the breast. Although the ability to manually manipulate the transducer allowed the medical professional the freedom to more thoroughly examine regions of interest during the scan, the time required to perform a complete scan could quickly accumulate. SUMMARY In one aspect, the technology relates to an ultrasound breast imaging system including: a gantry: and a compression assembly coupled to the gantry, the compression assembly including: a pair of compression paddles mounted on a positioning track, each compression paddle housing a transducer and having a patient contact surface including a compression material: and a motor for moving at least one of the compression paddles along the positioning track to immobilize a breast for ultrasound imaging. In an example, the compression paddle includes a housing and wherein the patient contact surface is detachable from the housing. In another example, the ultrasound breast imaging system further includes a rotatable arm coupling the compression assembly to the gantry for rotating the compression assembly to a plurality of scan perspectives for performing at least one of a cranial-caudal, mediolateral oblique, lateral, and frontal scan. In yet another example, the compression assembly further includes a positioning structure, and a support arm for each compression paddle, each support arm for pivotably coupling the associated compression paddle to the positioning structure. In still another example, the ultrasound breast imaging system further includes a user interface mounted on the gantry and including controls for controlling at least one of a position of the compression assembly and an ultrasound scan workflow. In another example of the above aspect, the compression material is at least partially elastic. In an example, the compression material is rigid. In another example, at least one of the transducers housed in the compression paddle is configured to move along a scan path to obtain an ultrasound image. In yet another example, the ultrasound breast imaging system further includes a plurality of transducers, wherein each of the plurality of transducers is configured to move along different scan paths during ultrasound imaging. In still another example, the scan path is generally helical. In another aspect, the technology relates to a breast ultrasound imaging system including: a gantry; an arm extending from the gantry; a paddle support structure disposed at an end of the arm opposite the gantry; a compression paddle assembly coupled to the paddle support structure, wherein the compression paddle assembly includes at least one compression element having: a paddle support arm secured to the paddle support structu