Patent classifications
A61B8/4494
Methods and systems for multi-frequency transducer array fabrication
Various methods and systems are provided for a multi-frequency transducer array. In one example, the transducer array is fabricated by forming an interdigitated structure from a first comb structure with a first sub-element and a second comb structure with a second sub-element. The interdigitated structure is coupled to a base package, a matching layer, and a backing layer to form a plurality of multi-frequency transducers.
AUTOMATED BREAST ULTRASOUND EQUIPMENT AND METHODS USING ENHANCED NAVIGATOR AIDS
A method and system acquiring, processing and displaying breast ultrasound images in a way that makes breast ultrasound screening more practical and thus more widely used, and reduces the occurrence of missing cancers in screening and diagnosis, using automated scanning of chestwardly compressed breasts with ultrasound. Enhanced, whole-breast navigator overview images are produced from scanning breasts with ultrasound that emphasize abnormalities in the breast while excluding obscuring influences of non-breast structures, particularly those external to the breast such as ribs and chest wall, and differentiating between likely malignant and likely benign abnormalities and otherwise enhancing the navigator overview image and other images, thereby reducing the time to read, screen, and/or diagnose to practical time limits and also reduce screening or diagnostic errors.
Methods and apparatuses for turning on and off an ADC driver in an ultrasound device
Aspects of the technology described herein relate to control circuitry configured to turn on and off the ADC driver. In some embodiments, the control circuitry is configured to turn on and off the ADC driver in synchronization with sampling activity of an ADC, in particular based on when an ADC is sampling. The control circuitry may be configured to turn on the ADC driver during the hold phase of the ADC a time period before the track phase and to turn off the ADC driver during the hold phase a time period after the track phase. In some embodiments, the control circuitry is configured to control a duty cycle of the ADC driver turning on and off. In some embodiments, the control circuitry is configured to control a ratio between an off current and an on current in the ADC driver.
CONTROLLING AND VISUALIZING ROTATION AND DEFLECTION OF A 4D ULTRASOUND CATHETER HAVING MULTIPLE SHAFTS
A catheter includes: a shaft for insertion into an organ of a patient, and first and second position sensors. The shaft includes: (a) an inner shaft, which is configured to be deflected relative to an axis of the shaft, and (b) an outer shaft, which is coupled to a distal tip of the catheter and is configured to be: (i) coaxially disposed around the inner shaft, (ii) deflected together with the inner shaft, and (iii) rotated about the axis relative to the inner shaft. The first position sensor is coupled to the distal tip and is configured to produce a first signal, and the second position sensor is coupled to the inner shaft, and is configured to produce a second signal.
Ultrasonic oscillator unit having electrode part provided in ultrasonic oscillator, three or more connectors, and three or more electrode wiring boards mounted to three or more connectors and electrically connected to electrode part
An ultrasonic oscillator unit including an ultrasonic oscillator array in which a plurality of ultrasonic oscillators are arranged; an electrode part having a plurality of electrodes electrically connected to the plurality of ultrasonic oscillators, respectively; a circular-arc backing material layer disposed on a rear surface of the ultrasonic oscillator array; three or more wiring boards electrically connected to the plurality of electrodes of the electrode part; and three or more connectors to which a plurality of cables are connected, respectively. The three or more wiring boards are respectively mounted to the three or more connectors and electrically connect the plurality of electrodes of the electrode part to the plurality of cables. The three or more connectors are arranged on a rear surface side of the backing material layer in a width direction.
ELASTOGRAPHY DEVICE AND METHOD
An elastography device includes a probe with a single ultrasound transducer; or a plurality of ultrasound transducers, and a low frequency vibrator arranged to induce a displacement of said single ultrasound transducer or plurality of ultrasound transducers towards a tissue. The device is configured to emit a sequence of ultrasound pulses and to acquire echo signals received in response to track how elastic waves, induced by the displacement, travel in the tissue. The device is configured to generate, for one or more of the ultrasound pulses emitted a temporal offset upon emission, and/or a temporal offset upon reception, so that a difference thereof varies as a function of 2.d/.sub.Vus, where d is the displacement of the single transducer or plurality of ultrasound transducers, and where .sub.Vus is the speed of ultrasound in said tissue.
3-D ULTRASOUND IMAGING DEVICE AND METHODS
The present disclosure includes a method of diagnosing a condition of bodily tissue using a computer, the method comprising comparing, using a computer, a 3D tissue model derived from an ultrasound scan of the bodily tissue with at least one 3D tissue model having common tissue with the bodily tissue, and diagnosing a condition of the bodily tissue responsive to comparing the 3D tissue models.
DEVICE, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR HEMISPHERIC BREAST IMAGING
A system and method for capturing ultrasound signals from a hemispheric imaging region (e.g., by a stationary array of transducer elements arranged in the shape of a faceted hemisphere) and estimating scattering measurements that would be made by a virtual array in the opposite hemisphere (e.g., by a network of processors that receive and process the transmitted ultrasound signals in parallel) by forming an initial estimate of a medium variation for each of a plurality of subvolumes in the scattering object to form an estimated object, calculating residual scattering by using a difference between a scattering response calculated for the estimated object and measured ultrasound signals received from the scattering object, forming an initial three-dimensional image of the scattering object, and extrapolating a difference between the scattering response calculated for the estimated object and the measured ultrasound signals received from the scattering object.
DEFORMABLE SENSOR WITH DEFORMATION FEEDBACK, AND SYSTEM AND METHOD USING THE SAME
A biomedical sensor is provided that includes a deformable body panel, a first ultrasonic transducer, a second ultrasonic transducer, and a displacement sensor. The first and second ultrasonic transducers are attached to, and the displacement sensor is in communication with, the deformable body panel. The biomedical sensor is disposable in at least one default configuration wherein the first and second ultrasonic transducers are disposed relative to one another in a known first spatial transducer configuration. The biomedical sensor is disposable in one or more deformed configurations wherein the first and second ultrasonic transducers are disposed relative to one another in a second spatial transducer configuration different than the first spatial transducer configuration. The at least one displacement sensor is configured to produce signal information indicative of a difference between the first and second spatial transducer configurations.
MULTI-FUNCTIONAL SPARSE PHASED ARRAYS FOR GUIDING FOCUSED ULTRASOUND THERAPIES
Multifunctional ultrasound systems and methods for body section registration and mapping of microbubble dynamics. A system is provided that includes one or more micromachined ultrasonic transducer arrays (MUTAs) configured to capture a high-resolution image of at least a portion of a body section using ultrasound and monitor microbubble activity during ultrasound treatment. The system includes an image registration module configured to spatially register the high-resolution image with a reference image. The system includes electronics configured to control one or more of drive signal amplitude, frequency filtering, multiplexing, and DC bias voltage. The system can be configured to control ultrasound treatment based on the monitoring of the microbubble activity during treatment.