An ultrasonic imaging system including an array transducer that includes a plurality of elements each performing at least one of emission or reception of ultrasonic waves, at least some of the plurality of elements being disposed so as to face each other. The ultrasonic imaging system performs malfunction inspection including specifying one emitting element among emitting elements that emit ultrasonic waves and a group of receiving elements that are at least some of the plurality of elements and that receive transmitted waves emitted from the emitting element and transmitted through an imaging region; collecting measurement data of the transmitted waves via the group of receiving elements while switching the emitting element; calculating transfer characteristic values from the measurement data; and detecting a malfunctioning element among the plurality of elements on the basis of the transfer characteristic values.

An all-in-one mammography and breast ultrasonography apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes: a scanning table on which breasts are placed, the scanning table having a first axis aligned with a scanning direction of breasts and a second axis orthogonal to the first axis; an X-ray imaging device including an X-ray source arranged above the scanning table to generate X-rays for mammography and an X-ray flat panel detector arranged on the scanning table to detect the X-rays generated from the X-ray source; first and second ultrasound probes arranged on the scanning table so as to be adjacent to both ends of the X-ray flat panel detector to perform breast ultrasonography, the first and second ultrasound probes elongated along the second axis; and an orbital motion device installed on the scanning table to reciprocate the X-ray flat panel detector and the first and second ultrasound probes together along the first axis.

An image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes: a bath an inside of which is filled with a propagation liquid and in which a test object is to be immersed; a measurement device having a group of elements that irradiates the inside of the bath with a radiation wave and receives the radiation wave, which is a scattered wave; an upper drainage detection sensor that detects draining of the propagation liquid from a top portion of the bath to outside the bath; and a liquid level control module that controls a liquid level of the propagation liquid in the inside of the bath, and the liquid level control module controls, before the test object immersed in the inside of the bath, an amount of the propagation liquid in the inside of the bath such that the liquid level becomes lower than a top end position of the bath, and performs control, after the test object is immersed in the inside of the bath, such that the propagation liquid is supplied into the inside the bath at least until the upper drainage detection sensor detects draining of the propagation liquid. As a result, in an image processing apparatus that is of an automatic scanning type and has a simple configuration, it is possible to thoroughly image a test object.

A novel, integrated dual-modal breast imaging system that requires minimal or no movement of the breast between scans. A static receptacle holds the breast or other target object still. An acoustic imaging fixture with acoustic transducers, and an electromagnetic imaging chamber with electromagnetic antennae, each perform imaging of the target object when occupying a respective working position of surrounding relationship to the receptacle, and at least one thereof is movable relative to said static receptacle into and out of the respective working position, without repositioning of the static receptacle. Acoustic imaging is performed, and prior information extracted from the sound-speed image is incorporated into the electromagnetic inversion algorithm, whereby low-resolution sound-speed reconstructions are used to improve tumour detection via electromagnetic imaging.

A control device including: a control unit that, in a case in which continuous imaging that irradiates a breast of a subject with radiation emitted from a radiation source to capture a radiographic image in a compressed state in which the breast is compressed against an imaging table by a compression member and then captures an ultrasound image of the breast in the compressed state is performed, performs control to locate the radiation source at a non-facing position where the radiation source and the imaging table do not face each other.

A whole breast 3D ultrasound imaging system involves a wearable adapter subassembly, a compression plate subassembly releasably mountable on the wearable adapter subassembly and a motor plate subassembly releasably mountable on the compression plate subassembly so that the compression plate subassembly is between the wearable adapter subassembly and the motor plate subassembly. The wearable adapter subassembly acts as a dam to contain ultrasound fluid around a subject’s breast. The compression plate subassembly has an ultrasound compression plate in a frame, whereby the ultrasound compression plate is height adjustable. The motor plate subassembly has an ultrasound transducer and an actuator operatively coupled to the ultrasound transducer to translate the ultrasound transducer in a plane parallel to the ultrasound compression plate. The imaging system is cost-effective, portable and hands-free and can be used for bedside point-of-care imaging to acquire clear, sharp 3D ultrasound images of dense and/or small breasts.

A method for characterizing tissue of a patient, including receiving acoustic data derived from the interaction between the tissue and the acoustic waves irradiating the tissue; generating a morphology rendering of the tissue from the acoustic data, in which the rendering represents at least one biomechanical property of the tissue; determining a prognostic parameter for a region of interest in the rendering, in which the prognostic parameter incorporates the biomechanical property; and analyzing the prognostic parameter to characterize the region of interest. In some embodiment, the method further includes introducing a contrast agent into the tissue; generating a set of enhanced morphology renderings of the tissue after introducing the contrast agent; determining an enhanced prognostic parameter from the enhanced morphology renderings; and analyzing the enhanced prognostic parameter.

A breast imaging ultrasound system for ultrasound imaging of a body includes: scanning uniform sub-volumes of a mammalian breast with an ultrasound transducer having a fixed focal number (FN), acquiring ultrasonic images of portions of the target volume, the acquired images having the same voxel resolution, and processing the ultrasonic images, thereafter providing a 2D or 3D image of the target volume using constant size volume pixels (Voxels).

Provided is an ultrasonic CT device capable of shortening a transmission interval of ultrasonic waves while suppressing influence of a reception signal of reverberation waves of the ultrasonic waves on an original reception signal. when transmission and reception are repeated, a timing of current transmission is controlled such that a timing at which reverberation waves, which are ultrasonic waves transmitted in previous transmission and are reflected by a transducer array at least once, reach transducers used for current reception deviates from a timing at which ultrasonic waves transmitted in current transmission reach the transducers used for the current reception.

A sonographic imaging device involves an at least one movable panel, coupled to an upper surface, wherein movement of the panel will alter the overall size of the opening, a tub positioned beneath the opening and defining a volume such that a body part of a human subject can freely protrude through the opening into the volume defined by the tub, at least one robotic arm having a terminal end, wherein the terminal end is position-able to multiple locations within the volume defined by the tub, and at least one high frequency ultrasound transducer located near the terminal end. A related method of acquiring sonographic images of tissue of a human subject is also described.