Concave ultrasound transducers and 3D arrays
Inventors
Smith, David M. • Specht, Donald F. • Cabrera, Linda V. • Brewer, Kenneth D. • Specht, David J.
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Assignees
Member
MAUI ImagingMAUI Imaging develops ultrasound-based medical imaging solutions designed to overcome the limitations of traditional ultrasound, particularly in visualizing anatomy beyond bone, air, and metal barriers. Founded in 2006, the company has pioneered Computed Echo Tomography (CET) to enable diagnostic imaging in settings where conventional CT or MRI are impractical. With over 160 patents granted and FDA clearance for its K3900 system, MAUI Imaging targets applications in trauma medicine, critical care, neurosurgery, and interventional radiology, aiming to enhance timely diagnostics and interventions in both civilian and military environments.
MAUI Imaging develops ultrasound-based medical imaging solutions designed to overcome the limitations of traditional ultrasound, particularly in visualizing anatomy beyond bone, air, and metal barriers. Founded in 2006, the company has pioneered Computed Echo Tomography (CET) to enable diagnostic imaging in settings where conventional CT or MRI are impractical. With over 160 patents granted and FDA clearance for its K3900 system, MAUI Imaging targets applications in trauma medicine, critical care, neurosurgery, and interventional radiology, aiming to enhance timely diagnostics and interventions in both civilian and military environments.
Publication Number
US-11723626-B2
Publication Date
2023-08-15
Expiration Date
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.
Core Innovation
Multiple Aperture Ultrasound Imaging (MAUI) is performed using an ultrasound transducer array with concave curvature and adjustable probe configurations, including concave 1D/1.5D/2D/3D geometries. A transmit aperture and separate receive apertures are used so that echoes from different receive apertures are processed independently, supporting formation of volumetric data and 3D volumes with selectable slice angles.
Separating transmit and receive apertures enables a larger total aperture for higher lateral resolution while using calibrated element position and orientation to coherently combine echoes. Echoes associated with a first receive aperture are coherently combined and used to form first volumetric data, and echoes associated with a second receive aperture are coherently combined and used to form second volumetric data. The first and second volumetric data are then incoherently combined to produce volumetric data representing the region of interest.
The system includes dynamic control of view angle, aperture width and aperture size, and total aperture size, including automatic switching when obstruction is detected. Speckle-noise reduction is addressed by reciprocal transmit/receive role reversal and by incoherent/coherent compounding, including coherent addition and incoherent addition using phase cancellation avoidance. Calibration data specify element position and orientation and may be obtained from on-chip storage or remote storage including an Internet-accessible database.
Claims Coverage
The document provides two independent claims: a method for producing volumetric data and an ultrasound imaging system. Across these claims, the independent features center on separate transmit/receive aperture processing with coherent combination per aperture, followed by incoherent combination of resulting data, with system-level emphasis on calibration-based control and concave transducer array configuration.
Unfocused transmit with separate spaced receive apertures
Transmitting ultrasound energy as an unfocused ultrasound ping towards a scatterer with a transmit aperture comprising at least one transducer element on an ultrasound transducer array, receiving ultrasound echoes with a first receive aperture comprising a first receiver group of transducer elements, and receiving ultrasound echoes with a second receive aperture comprising a second receiver group of transducer elements, where the receive apertures are located apart from the transmit aperture.
Coherent combination per receive aperture followed by incoherent volumetric data combination
Coherently combining echoes received by the elements of the first receive aperture to form first volumetric data, coherently combining echoes received by the elements of the second receive aperture to form second volumetric data, and incoherently combining the first volumetric data and the second volumetric data to produce volumetric data representing the region of interest.
System control combining coherently without phase cancellation and incoherently combining image or volumetric data
An ultrasound imaging system with a control system configured to combine echoes received by the elements of the first receive aperture coherently without phase cancellation to form first image data, to combine echoes received by the elements of the second receive aperture coherently without phase cancellation to form second image data, and to form an ultrasound image or volumetric data of the region of interest by incoherently combining the first image data with the second image data.
Concave curvature and calibration of transducer element position and orientation
Configuring an ultrasound transducer array with concave curvature about at least two axes, and having the control system access calibration data specifying the position and orientation of every element in the first transmit aperture, the first receive aperture, and the second receive aperture.
The independent claims cover MAUI-based volumetric data formation where unfocused transmit energy is processed using separate receive apertures. For each receive aperture, echoes are coherently combined, and the resulting datasets are incoherently combined. The system claim further relies on calibration data for element position and orientation and supports concave curvature constraints in the ultrasound transducer array.
Stated Advantages
Provides higher lateral resolution by enabling a larger total aperture through separating transmit and receive apertures.
Reduces speckle noise via reciprocal transmit/receive role reversal and incoherent/coherent compounding.
Supports coherent combination of echoes using calibrated element position and orientation.
Provides dynamic adjustment of view angle and aperture parameters, including automatic switching upon obstruction detection.
Documented Applications
Producing volumetric data representing a region of interest within an object to be imaged.
Forming ultrasound images or volumetric data of a region of interest by combining first image data and second image data.
Building 3D volumes using concave 3D array slices with selectable slice angles.
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