By identifying locations of contrast agent response, an intensity-based metric of contrast agent signal is used to control a duration of microbubble destruction with a medical ultrasound scanner. Feedback from motion of the transducer may be used to indicate when a user perceives enough destruction. A combination of both an intensity-based metric and transducer motion may be used to control the duration of bursting.

In an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to an embodiment, processing circuitry obtains volume data corresponding to at least one cardiac cycle and being taken of a region including the right ventricle of a patient. The processing circuitry estimates motion information of a tissue in the region by using the volume data. The processing circuitry calculates information including at least one selected from between wall motion information and volume information related to the right ventricle, on the basis of the motion information of the tissue. The processing circuitry outputs the calculated information. The processing circuitry corrects first motion information of the right ventricular outflow tract, which is an outflow tract of the right ventricle, by using second motion information of a site that is positioned in the vicinity of the right ventricular outflow tract and exhibits motion similar to that of the right ventricular outflow tract.

The present invention relates to a pregnancy monitoring system, the system comprising a fetal monitoring transducer (20) arranged to detect fetal medical condition information; and a control device (48) comprising a motion assessment unit (50) and a signal output unit (52); wherein the fetal monitoring transducer (20) is arranged to detect fetal movement indicative information, wherein the motion assessment unit (50) is arranged to process fetal movement grading information, in addition to the fetal movement indicative information, wherein the signal output unit (52) is arranged to simultaneously output a fetal condition signal, particularly a fetal heart rate signal, and an augmented fetal movement signal based on the fetal movement indicative information and the fetal movement grading information, wherein a characteristic property of the original fetal movement information is still present in the augmented fetal movement signal. The disclosure further relates to a corresponding pregnancy monitoring method.

The invention provides for a method of obtaining a composite 3D ultrasound image of a region of interest. The method includes obtaining preliminary ultrasound data from a region of interest of a subject and identifying an anatomical feature within the region of interest based on the preliminary ultrasound data. A first imaging position and one or more additional imaging positions are then determined based on the anatomical feature. A first 3D ultrasound image is obtained from the first imaging position and one or more additional 3D ultrasound images are obtained from the one or more additional imaging positions, wherein a portion of the first 3D ultrasound image overlaps a portion of the one or more additional 3D ultrasound images, thereby forming an overlapping portion comprising the anatomical feature. Spatial registration is performed between the first 3D ultrasound image and the one or more additional 3D ultrasound images based on the anatomical feature the 3D ultrasound images are then blended based on the spatial registration, thereby generating a composite 3D ultrasound image.

A system and method for enhancing visualization of a pleural line by automatically detecting and marking the pleural line in images of an ultrasound scan is provided. The method includes receiving an ultrasound cine loop acquired according to a first mode. The method includes processing the ultrasound cine loop according to the first mode. The method includes processing at least a portion of the ultrasound cine loop according to a second mode. The method includes identifying a position of an anatomical structure based on the at least a portion of the ultrasound cine loop processed according to the second mode. The method includes displaying, at a display system, the position of the anatomical structure on a first mode image generated from the ultrasound cine loop processed according to the first mode.

An ultrasound catheter capable of reducing noise in an ultrasound image by limiting reflection of ultrasound oscillated from a distal end side surface of a transducer. The ultrasound catheter includes: an elongated sheath; an ultrasound transducer; a shaft that supports the ultrasound transducer; and a cap that seals an opening portion of the sheath and has an X-ray opaque property. The cap includes an extension portion including a proximal portion facing the ultrasound transducer and an outer circumferential surface facing an inner circumferential surface of the sheath. The proximal portion includes an ultrasound scattering surface that scatters ultrasound from the ultrasound transducer. The outer circumferential surface includes a contact portion that is in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the sheath in a liquid-tight manner. The ultrasound scattering surface intersects with a virtual plane obtained by enlarging the ultrasound oscillation surface in an in-plane direction.

The invention provides an ultrasound data processing method for pre-processing signal data in advance of generating ultrasound images. The method seeks to reduce noise through application of coherent persistence to a series of raw ultrasound signal representations representative of the same path or section through a body but at different successive times. A motion compensation procedure including amplitude peak registration and phase alignment is applied to raw echo signal data in advance of application of persistence in order to cohere the signals and thereby limit the introduction of motion induced artifacts.

An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1 includes a transducer array 2, a transmission unit 3 that transmits an ultrasonic pulse FP and an ultrasonic pulse SP having phases inverted from each other on the scanning line from the transducer array 2 multiple times, a reception unit 4 that acquires reception signals from an output signal of the transducer array 2, a quadrature detection unit 5 that performs quadrature detection on the reception signals to acquire IQ signal strings, a tissue velocity detection unit 6 that detects a velocity of a tissue in a subject based on the IQ signal strings, a phase correction unit 7 that corrects phases of the IQ signal strings, a pulse inversion addition unit 8 that adds IQ signals corresponding to the ultrasonic pulse FP and IQ signals corresponding to the ultrasonic pulse SP using the corrected IQ signal strings to acquire added signals, and an image generation unit 10 that generates an ultrasound image from the added signals.

A method includes receiving, from a volumetric imager, a first image including a target of a patient. The method further includes receiving a second image including the target of the patient. The method further includes tracking, by a processing device, a position of the target using the first image and the second image by maintaining a fixed alignment between a treatment beam of a linear accelerator (LINAC) and a source and detector pair of the volumetric imager during operation of the LINAC.

Motion independent acoustic radiation force impulse imaging is provided. Rather than rely on the displacement over time for each location, the displacements over locations for each time are used. Parallel beamforming is used to simultaneously sample across a region of interest. Since it may be assumed that the different locations are subjected to the same motion at the same time, finding a peak displacement over locations for each given time provides peak or profile information independent of the motion. The velocity or other viscoelastic parameter may be estimated from the displacements over locations.