An ultrasound system is disclosed comprising an ultrasound transducer array (100) comprising a plurality of ultrasound transducer cells (130), each of said cell having an independently adjustable position and/or orientation such as to conform an ultrasound transmitting surface of the cell to a region of a body and a controller (140). The controller is configured to register the respective ultrasound transducer cells by simultaneously operating at least two ultrasound transducer cells in a transmit mode in which the cells transmit distinguishable ultrasound signals and operating the remaining ultrasound transducer cells in a receive mode. The controller extracts time-of-flight information of the respective ultrasound signals between transmitter and receiver and by systematically selecting different ultrasound transducer cells as transmitters, the controller collects sufficient time-of-flight information from which the respective position and/or relative orientation of the ultrasound transducer cells within the ultrasound transducer array may be derived. A method for operating the ultrasound system in this manner as well as a computer program product is also disclosed.

The present disclosure includes ultrasound systems and methods for imaging anisotropic tissue with shear wave elastography at a variety of angles with respect to the tissue. An example ultrasound imaging system includes a probe coupled to a position tracking system for tracking a position of the probe with respect to a subject, and a processor in communication with the probe. The processor may receive position tracking data from the position tracking system. The processor may define at least one target plane in anisotropic tissue, determine a difference between a current position of the probe and the position of the target plane, and provide a visual indicator of the difference, wherein the processor dynamically updates the visual indicator responsive to a change in the position of the imaging plane with respect to the target plane.

In one example in accordance with the present disclosure, an imaging device is described. The imaging device includes an array of transducers. Each transducer includes an array of piezoelectric elements. Each piezoelectric element transmits pressure waves towards an object to be imaged and receives reflections of the pressure waves off the object to be imaged. The imaging device also includes a transmit channel per one or more piezoelectric elements to generate the pressure waves and a receive channel per one or more piezoelectric elements to process the reflections of the pressure waves. The number of channels are selectively altered to control parameters such as power consumption and temperature.

This invention provides an ultrasound system for improving needle visualization, including: an ultrasound transducer, which has a tail and a head. A plurality of transducing elements (or more specifically, piezoelectric elements) are embedded in a surface of the head. The transducing elements are arranged in an array of M multiplying N (M×N), wherein M is a positive even number, N is a positive integer, and N is greater than M.

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.

In an ultrasound system 1, a mobile information terminal 3 is wirelessly connected to an ultrasound probe 2 and an external monitor 4. The ultrasound probe 2 includes: a transducer array 11; a transmitting and receiving unit 14 that generates a sound ray signal by directing the transducer array 11 to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves; and an image information data generation unit 19 that generates image information data from the sound ray signal. The mobile information terminal 3 includes: a display unit 34; an operation unit 39 including a touch sensor; an operation image generation unit 37 that generates an operation image for an input operation; an external monitor data generation unit 36 that generates external monitor data from the image information data; and a terminal-side wireless communication unit 32 that transmits the external monitor data to the external monitor 4. The external monitor 4 displays an external monitor ultrasound image based on the external monitor data.

Examples of this disclosure include a method for determining a physical characteristic of a medium, the method including processing ultrasound signal data of the medium associated to at least three emitted ultrasound pulses for respectively providing at least three in-phase and quadrature phase data sets, the at least three emitted ultrasound pulses including a first emitted pulse having a first intensity and at least two supplementary emitted pulses having each a second intensity, wherein a sum of the second intensities corresponds to the first intensity, determining the physical characteristic as a function of a first phase lag between the first IQ data set and a sum of the at least two further IQ data sets, or a second phase lag between the at least two further IQ data sets.

A controller for determining shape of an interventional device includes a memory that stores instructions, and a processor that executes the instructions. When executed by the processor, the instructions cause the controller to execute a process that includes controlling an imaging probe to emit at least one tracking beam to an interventional medical device over a period of time comprising multiple different points of time. The process also includes determining a shape of the interventional medical device, based on a response to the tracking beams received over the period of time from a first sensor that moves along the interventional medical device during the period of time relative to a fixed location on the interventional medical device for the period of time.

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.

An ultrasonic sensing device is foldable and includes two bracket portions rotatably connected and an ultrasonic sensor on each bracket portion. The ultrasonic sensor includes a flexible circuit board carrying an ultrasonic signal transmitting element and an ultrasonic signal receiving element. The ultrasonic signal transmitting element is mounted to one of the two bracket portions, and the ultrasonic signal receiving element is mounted to other of the two bracket portions. The ultrasonic signal transmitting element is capable of rotating to the ultrasonic signal receiving element by opening and closing the two bracket portions.