Various embodiments include methods for creating an analysis data set for an evaluation of an ultrasonic test of an object comprising: providing a first and second measurement data set, each based on an ultrasonic measurement of a region of the object and a SAFT analysis thereof; associating a first equivalent defect size with a volume element of the first measurement data set associated with at least a portion of the region; associating a second equivalent defect size with a volume element of the second measurement data set associated with at least the portion of the region; creating the analysis data set having at least one volume element which is associated with at least the portion of the region; and associating a third equivalent defect size with the volume element of the analysis data set, wherein the third is formed from the maximum of the first and second sizes.

Provided is an ultrasonic imaging apparatus including: an inputter configured to receive an input of a region of interest (ROI) from a user; a beamformer configured to perform transmission/reception focusing with respect to a virtual source to be used for a synthetic aperture focusing method; a display; and a main controller configured to determine a position of the virtual source on the basis of an image quality in the received ROI and control the display to display the determined position of the virtual source.

Transmit-Receive Longitudinal (TRL) probes can be used for the inspection of noisy material, such as austenitic materials. By using various techniques, an inspection area is not constrained by a wedge design of an ultrasonic probe and the benefits of using a linear probe array (rather than a matrix) are maintained. Volumetric or TFM-like imaging on austenitic materials using a linear transmit array and a linear receive array that are out of plane with one another (a TRL configuration) and not in the main imaging place can simplify the inspection and analysis of such materials. For each scan position, an ultrasound probe can acquire acoustic imaging data. Then, a processor can then combine acquisitions from adjacent scan positions to create an imaging result using synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) principles to recreate a focalization in a passive axis of the probe.

Techniques, systems, and devices are disclosed for synthetic aperture ultrasound imaging using spread-spectrum, wide instantaneous band, coherent, coded waveforms. In one aspect, a method includes synthesizing a composite waveform formed of a plurality of individual orthogonal coded waveforms that are mutually orthogonal to each other, correspond to different frequency bands and including a unique frequency with a corresponding phase; transmitting an acoustic wave based on the composite waveform toward a target from one or more transmitting positions; and receiving at one or more receiving positions acoustic energy returned from at least part of the target corresponding to the transmitted acoustic waveforms, in which the transmitting and receiving positions each include one or both of spatial positions of an array of transducer elements relative to the target and beam phase center positions of the array, and the transmitted acoustic waveforms and the returned acoustic waveforms produce an enlarged effective aperture.

According to one embodiment, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry acquires a parameter relating to a predetermined imaging mode, the parameter including at least information on an instruction for executing transmit aperture synthesis, and determines a scanning condition for executing the transmit aperture synthesis together with step-alternating scan based on the parameter.

An autonomous underwater device includes one or more receiver arrays. Each receiver array includes a plurality of receiver elements, and each receiver element is configured to generate a signal responsive to detecting sound energy in an aquatic environment. The autonomous underwater device also includes one or more processors coupled to the one or more receiver arrays and configured to receive signals from the receiver elements, to generate input data based on the received signals, and to provide the input data to an on-board machine learning model to generate model output data. The model output data includes sonar image data based on the sound energy, a label associated with the sonar image data, or both.

An ultrasound imaging system (100) includes a transducer array (102) with plurality of transducer elements (200) configured to transmit an ultrasound signal and receive echoes. Transmit circuitry (104) is configured to excite the transducer elements to transmit the ultrasound signal along a propagation direction. Receive circuitry (106) is configured to receive an echo signal produced in response to the ultrasound signal traversing flowing structure in the field of view. A beamformer (112) is configured to beamform the echo signal and produce a single directional signal at a depth. The directional signal is transverse to the propagation direction of the ultrasound signal. A velocity processor (114) is configured to transform the directional signal to produce a corresponding quadrature signal, estimate a depth velocity component and a transverse velocity component at the depth based on the directional signal and the quadrature signal, and generate a signal indicative of the estimate.

Ultrasound adaptive imaging methods and/or systems provide for modification of waveform generation to drive a plurality of transducer elements. The modification may be based on at least one of contrast ratio or signal to noise ratio as determined with respect to control points in a region of interest. Further, image reconstruction may be performed upon separating, from pulse echo data received, at least a portion thereof received at each ultrasound transducer element from the region of interest in response to the delivered ultrasound energy corresponding to a single frequency of one or more image frequencies within a transducer apparatus bandwidth. The image reconstructed from the separated pulse-echo data corresponding to the single frequency of the one or more image frequencies may be used alone or combined with like image data (e.g., to provide an image representative of one or more properties in the region of interest).

In one embodiment, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes a probe configured to be equipped with plural transducers arranged in a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and be able to perform a two-dimensional scan in the first and second directions; a moving device configured to support the probe and mechanically move the probe in the second direction; a receiving circuit configured to generate first reception signals for respective moving positions of the probe in the second direction by performing receiving phase-compensation and summation processing on respective reflected signals received by the plurality of transducers at each of the moving positions; and processing circuitry configured to generate a second reception signal by performing moving aperture synthesis on the first reception signals generated for the respective moving positions of the probe based on positional information of the probe and generate image data from the second reception signal.

Embodiments described provide an ultrasound method, and an ultrasound apparatus and computer program product operable to perform that method. In some embodiments, the method allows for provision of a multi-transducer ultrasound imaging system by providing a robust method to accurately localize the transducers in the system in order to beamform a final image. The method and apparatus described allow for improvements in imaging quality in terms of resolution, depth penetration, contrast and signal to noise ratio (SNR).