Systems and methods for ultrasound imaging using a delay-encoded harmonic imaging (“DE-HI”) technique is provided. An ultrasound pulse sequence is coded using temporal delays between ultrasound emissions within a single transmission event. This coded scheme allows for harmonic imaging to be implemented. The temporal time delay-codes are applied temporally to multiple different ultrasound emissions within a single transmission event, rather than spatially across different transmitting elements. The received radio frequency (“RF”) signals undergo a decoding process in the frequency domain to recover the signals, as they would be obtained from standard single emissions, for subsequent compounding. As one specific example, a one-quarter period time delay can be used to encode second harmonic signals from each angle emission during a single multiplane wave (“MW”) transmission event, rather than inverting the polarity of the pulses as in conventional MW imaging.

A method includes receiving ultrasound echo signals produced in response to a pulsed ultrasound field interacting with anatomical tissue and flow of structure therein. The method further includes generating electrical signals indicative thereof. The method further includes beamforming the electrical signals producing beamformed data. The method further includes constructing a real-time image of the anatomical tissue with the beamformed data. The method further includes constructing a de-aliased color images of the flow with the beamformed data. The method further includes visually presenting the real-time image of the anatomical tissue with the de-aliased color images of the flow superimposed thereover.

Aspects of the invention include ultrasound systems that suppress grating lobe artifacts arising due to high frequency operation of an array transducer probe which is operated at a frequency higher than its pitch limitation.

A method is provided for filtering ultrasound image clutter. In the first stage of the method a data matrix is captured, wherein the data matrix contains information relating to the image, and singular value decomposition (SVD) is performed on the data matrix or a matrix derived from the data matrix. A spatial singular vector is then obtained from the SVD of the data matrix and a mean spatial frequency is estimated from them. A filtered data matrix is constructed based on the estimated mean spatial frequency and the SVD of the data matrix and a filtered image is constructed based on the filtered data matrix.

A method for producing an image of at least one vessel with ultrasound includes administering a contrast agent particle into the at least one vessel, and delivering an ultrasound pulse having a first frequency range to the at least one vessel. The method further includes detecting ultrasound energy scattered from the contrast agent particle at a second frequency range that is different from the first frequency range, converting the scattered ultrasound energy into an electronic radio frequency signal, and using an algorithm to determine a spatial location of the contrast agent particle based on extraction of a specific feature of the radio frequency signal. The method further includes generating an image by displaying a marker of the spatial location of the contrast agent particle with a resolution that is finer than a pulse length of the ultrasound pulse and repeating the detecting, converting, using, and generating for a plurality of contrast agent particles until sufficient markers have been accumulated to reconstruct a pattern of the at least one vessel; wherein the pattern is an image of the at least one vessel.

A system and method used to image cylindrical fluid conduits, such as pipes, wellbores and tubulars, with ultrasound transducers then process the ultrasound images to detect edges and surfaces. The device and method compute monotonic paths through high energy pixels. Functions are used for dropping, extending and selecting an optimal path based on certain criteria, such as path length, path continuity and path energy. The selected path may be used to model and visualize the tubular along with key features, components and defects in 2D and 3D.

A shear wave velocity is accurately measured. Time change data of a displacement of a tissue due to a shear wave generated in a test object is calculated from a reception signal obtained by transmitting an ultrasonic wave to the test object and receiving a reflected wave. The time change data of the displacement is converted into spectrum data indicating a displacement distribution in a frequency space having a spatial frequency and a time frequency as two axes. Spectrum data in a predetermined region is extracted by rotating the spectrum data by a predetermined angle in the frequency space, and filtering the rotated spectrum data. A velocity of the shear wave is calculated based on the extracted spectrum data in the predetermined region.

A catheter-based ultrasound imaging system configured to provide a full circumferential 360-degree view around an intra-vascular/intra-cardiac imaging-catheter-head by generating a three-dimensional view of the tissue surrounding the imaging-head over time. The ultrasound imaging system can also provide tissue-state mapping capability. The evaluation of the vasculature and tissue characteristics include path and depth of lesions during cardiac-interventions such as ablation. The ultrasound imaging system comprises a catheter with a static or rotating sensor array tip supporting continuous circumferential rotation around its axis, connected to an ultrasound module and respective processing machinery allowing ultrafast imaging and a rotary motor that translates radial movements around a longitudinal catheter axis through a rotary torque transmitting part to rotate the sensor array-tip. This allows the capture and reconstruction of information of the vasculature including tissue structure around the catheter tip for generation of the three-dimensional view over time.

An interlaced data acquisition scheme is employed in an ultrasound imaging device to reduce the amount of electrical power consumed by the device's transmit firings when collecting video data. Reducing electrical consumption according to the present disclosure reduces battery size, weight and cost; reduces heat generation; reduces need for heat-dissipating materials in the probe and prolongs probe uptime. A reconstruction algorithm is employed to produce images from the interlaced data that are comparable in quality to videos that would be obtained by a conventional (non-interlaced) image acquisition.

The system and method provide an automatic aligned and co-oriented display of a 3D anatomical model adjacent to one or more 2D MPR views of a 3D echocardiographic image dataset. The 3D model is presented in alignment with the displayed 3D and 2D images to provide an indication of the orientation of each of the 3D volume and 2D planar views with respect to the 3D model and to one another. The 3D model can include labels or information regarding an anatomical feature(s) of interest to enable the user to readily visualize the disposition of the 2D planar view relative to the anatomical feature(s) in the 3D model. While interacting with the 2D views or 3D model, the 2D views and 3D anatomical model will change orientation simultaneously, with the representation of the 2D plane in the 3D model moving in correspondence with the 2D image.