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US-20260123915-A1 - CONCAVE ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCERS AND 3D ARRAYS

US20260123915A1US 20260123915 A1US20260123915 A1US 20260123915A1US-20260123915-A1

Abstract

A Multiple Aperture Ultrasound Imaging (MAUI) probe or transducer is uniquely capable of simultaneous imaging of a region of interest from separate apertures of ultrasound arrays. Some embodiments provide systems and methods for designing, building and using ultrasound probes having continuous arrays of ultrasound transducers which may have a substantially continuous concave curved shape in two or three dimensions (i.e., concave relative to an object to be imaged). Other embodiments herein provide systems and methods for designing, building and using ultrasound imaging probes having other unique configurations, such as adjustable probes and probes with variable configurations.

Inventors

  • David M. Smith
  • Donald F. Specht
  • Linda V. Cabrera
  • Kenneth D. Brewer
  • David J. Specht

Assignees

  • MAUI IMAGING, INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20250612

Claims (12)

  1. 1 . (canceled)
  2. 2 . A method comprising: transmitting a single unfocused ultrasound ping towards a tissue region of interest to insonify an entirety of the tissue region of interest with a transmit aperture comprising at least one transmit transducer element on an ultrasound transducer array; receiving ultrasound echoes of the single unfocused ultrasound ping from the tissue region of interest with a plurality of receive transducer elements on the ultrasound transducer array; accessing calibration data containing a position and orientation of the at least one transmit transducer element and the plurality of receive transducer elements; forming a plurality of complete ultrasound images of the tissue region of interest corresponding to each of the plurality of receive transducer elements with the received ultrasound echoes of the single unfocused ultrasound ping and the calibration data; and combining the plurality of complete ultrasound images into a single image.
  3. 3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein combining the plurality of complete ultrasound images comprises incoherently combining the plurality of complete ultrasound images into a single image.
  4. 4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein accessing calibration data comprises accessing a database that is remote from a control system of the ultrasound transducer array.
  5. 5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein accessing calibration data comprises accessing an Internet-accessible database.
  6. 6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein accessing calibration data comprises accessing data stored in a chip housed within a probe housing along with the array.
  7. 7 . An ultrasound imaging system, comprising: an ultrasound transducer array arranged to transmit and receive ultrasound energy into a tissue region of interest; a transmit aperture comprising at least one transmit element in the ultrasound transducer array configured to insonify a scatterer in the region of interest with an unfocused ultrasound ping in the region of interest; a receive aperture comprising a plurality of receive elements in the ultrasound transducer array configured to receive ultrasound echoes of the unfocused ultrasound ping from the scatterer; and a control system in electronic communication with the ultrasound transducer array, the control system configured to control the transmit aperture to transmit a single unfocused ultrasound ping towards the tissue region of interest to insonify an entirety of the tissue region of interest, access calibration data describing a position and orientation of each element of the transmit aperture and each element of the receive aperture, form a plurality of complete ultrasound images of the tissue region of interest corresponding to each of the plurality of receive transducer elements with the received ultrasound echoes of the single unfocused ultrasound ping and the calibration data, and combine the plurality of complete ultrasound images into a single image.
  8. 8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the calibration data is stored in the control system.
  9. 9 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the calibration data is stored remotely from the control system.
  10. 10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the calibration data is stored in an internet-accessible database.
  11. 11 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the calibration data is stored in a chip housed within a probe housing along with the array.
  12. 12 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the ultrasound transducer array has a concave curvature about at least two axes.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/344,278, filed Jun. 29, 2023, titled “CONCAVE ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCERS AND 3D ARRAYS,” now U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US-20240108311-A1, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/099,116, filed Nov. 16, 2020, titled “CONCAVE ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCERS AND 3D ARRAYS,” now U.S. Pat. No. 11,723,626, which is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/965,704, filed Dec. 10, 2015, titled “CONCAVE ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCERS AND 3D ARRAYS,” now U.S. Pat. No. 10,835,208, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/595,083, filed Jan. 12, 2015, titled “CONCAVE ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCERS AND 3D ARRAYS,” now U.S. U.S. Pat. No. 9,220,478, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/272,105, filed Oct. 12, 2011, titled “Concave Ultrasound Transducers and 3D Arrays,” now U.S. Pat. No. 9,247,926, which application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119 of U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 61/392,896 , filed Oct. 13, 2010, titled “MULTIPLE APERTURE MEDICAL ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCERS,” which applications are incorporated herein by reference. This application is related to U.S. Pat. No. 8,007,439, titled “Method and Apparatus to Produce Ultrasonic Images Using Multiple Apertures”, and PCT Application No. PCT/US 2009/053096, filed Aug. 7, 2009, titled “Imaging with Multiple Aperture Medical Ultrasound and Synchronization of Add-on Systems.” This application is also related to U.S. Ser. No. 12/760,327 filed Apr. 14, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,473,239, titled “Multiple Aperture Ultrasound Array Alignment Fixture”, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/760,375, filed Apr. 14, 2010, titled “Universal Multiple Aperture Medical Ultrasound Probe”, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/029,907, filed Feb. 17, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,146,313, titled “Point Source Transmission and Speed-of-Sound Correction Using Multi-Aperture Ultrasound Imaging”. INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE All publications and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. FIELD The present invention relates generally to imaging techniques used in medicine, and more particularly to medical ultrasound, and still more particularly to an apparatus for producing ultrasonic images using multiple apertures. BACKGROUND In conventional ultrasonic imaging, a focused beam of ultrasound energy is transmitted into body tissues to be examined and the returned echoes are detected and plotted to form an image. In echocardiography, the beam is usually stepped in increments of angle from a center probe position, and the echoes are plotted along lines representing the paths of the transmitted beams. In abdominal ultrasonography, the beam is usually stepped laterally, generating parallel beam paths, and the returned echoes are plotted along parallel lines representing these paths. The basic principles of conventional ultrasonic imaging are described in the first chapter of Echocardiography, by Harvey Feigenbaum (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 5th ed., Philadelphia, 1993). It is well known that the average velocity ν of ultrasound in human tissue is about 1540 m/sec, the range in soft tissue being 1440 to 1670 m/sec (P. N. T. Wells, Biomedical Ultrasonics, Academic Press, London, New York, San Francisco, 1977). Therefore, the depth of an impedance discontinuity generating an echo can be estimated as the round-trip time for the echo multiplied by v/2, and the amplitude is plotted at that depth along a line representing the path of the beam. After this has been done for all echoes along all beam paths, an image is formed. The gaps between the scan lines are typically filled in by interpolation. In order to insonify the body tissues, a beam formed by an array of transducer elements is scanned over the tissues to be examined. Traditionally, the same transducer array is used to detect the returning echoes. The use of the same transducer array to both produce the beam and detect returning echoes is one of the most significant limitations in the use of ultrasonic imaging for medical purposes; this limitation produces poor lateral resolution. Theoretically, the lateral resolution could be improved by increasing the aperture of the ultrasonic probe, but the practical problems involved with aperture size increase have kept apertures small and lateral resolution diminished. Unquestionably, ultrasonic imaging has been very useful even with this limitation, but it could be more effective with better resolution. In the practice of cardiology, for example, the limitation on single aperture size is dictated by the space between the ribs (the intercostal spaces). For scanners intended for abdominal and other use, the limitation on aperture size