Provided are an ultrasound probe, an ultrasound imaging apparatus, an ultrasound imaging system including the ultrasound imaging apparatus, and a method of controlling the ultrasound imaging apparatus. In accordance with one aspect, the ultrasound probe includes a transducer configured to receive an echo ultrasound signal by emitting a plane wave at least three times at different emission angles or at emission angles which are dependent on each other; and a probe controller configured to obtain an ultrasound image by determining a Doppler shift frequency from the received echo ultrasound signal and calculating at least one of a speed of an object and a speed of the object in each of directions on the basis of the determined Doppler shift frequency and either the different emission angles or the dependent emission angles.

The embodiments of the present disclosure disclose an ultrasound imaging method and system, the method may include transmitting a plurality of plane wave ultrasound beams to a scan target and acquiring corresponding plane wave echo signals; transmitting focused ultrasound beams to the scan target and acquiring corresponding focused beam echo signals; acquiring a plurality of velocity components of a target point in the scan target using the plane wave echo signals, and acquiring velocity vectors of the target point according to the plurality of velocity components; acquiring an ultrasound image of the scan target using the focused beam echo signals; and displaying the velocity vector and the ultrasound image.

An apparatus includes a processor and a display. The processor includes a combiner configured to combine contrast data acquired with a same sub-aperture, for each of a plurality of sub-apertures, to create a contrast frame for each of the sub-apertures. The processor includes a microbubble detector configured to determine positions of microbubbles in the contrast frames. The processor includes a motion estimator configured to estimate a motion field based on frames of B-mode data for each of the plurality of sub-apertures. The processor includes a motion corrector configured to motion correct the positions of the microbubbles in the contrast frames based on the motion field and time delays between emissions for the sets of contrast data and the emission for B-mode data, for each of the plurality of sub-apertures, to produce motion corrected contrast frames. The display is configured to display the motion corrected contrast frames as super resolution images.

An ultrasonic imaging system and an imaging method. The imaging method comprises: transmitting a divergent ultrasonic beam to a scanning object, and scanning the scanning object with the divergent ultrasonic beam (S11); a self-scanning object receiving an echo of the divergent ultrasonic beam, and obtaining divergent ultrasonic echo signals by means of beam synthesis (S12); obtaining blood flow velocity vector information of the scanning object according to the divergent ultrasonic echo signals (S13); and displaying the blood flow velocity vector information of the scanning object (S14). Using a divergent ultrasonic beam to perform blood flow imaging can ensure that there is a sufficiently large scanning area for covering a scanning object, thereby achieving ultrasonic blood flow imaging at a high frame rate.

The present disclosure describes ultrasound systems configured to enhance flow imaging and analysis by adaptively adjusting one or more imaging parameters in response to acquired flow measurements. Example systems can include an ultrasound transducer and one or more processors. Using the system components, mean flow velocity magnitude and acceleration can be determined within a target region during an acquisition phase, which may include a cardiac cycle. One or more adjusted flow imaging parameters, such as adjusted ensemble length, temporal smoothing filter length and/or step size, can be determined based on the acquired flow measurements to increase the signal quality of newly acquired ultrasound echo signals. The adjusted flow imaging parameters can then be applied by the ultrasound transducer during a second acquisition phase.

An ultrasound system performs duplex colorflow and spectral Doppler imaging, with the spectral Doppler interrogation performed at a sample volume location shown on the colorflow image. The colorflow image is displayed in a color box overlaid on a co-registered B mode image. A color box position and steering angle processor analyzes the spatial Doppler data and automatically sets the color box angle and location over a blood vessel for optimal Doppler sensitivity and accuracy. The processor may also automatically set the flow angle correction cursor in alignment with the direction of flow. In a preferred embodiment these optimization adjustments are made automatically and continuously as a user pauses at points for Doppler measurements along a length of the blood vessel.

A method for estimating a range of a moving target includes emitting, from a target, a first ultrasound signal T, wherein the first ultrasound signal T is generated based on a first differential Zadoff-Chu sequence x; receiving, at a receiver, a second ultrasound signal R, which corresponds to the first ultrasound signal T, wherein the second ultrasound signal R includes a second differential Zadoff-Chu sequence y; applying a maximum likelihood estimator to the first ultrasound signal T and the second ultrasound signal R to calculate an initial time of flight estimate tau.sub.corr; and calculating an initial range estimate d.sub.corr of the target by multiplying the initial time of flight estimate tau.sub.corr with a speed of sound c. A differential Zadoff-Chu sequence is different from a Zadoff-Chu sequence.

A system for detecting blood velocity within a blood vessel includes a piezoelectric transducer supported on a ceramic substrate. The ceramic substrate supports the piezoelectric transducer at a fixed angle of incidence that is greater than 0° and less than 90°. The ceramic substrate is formed of steatite ceramic and is configured to couple an ultrasonic signal emitted by the transducer to skin underlying the substrate.

The present invention aims to obtain and provide one or more types of information desired by an operator with a high efficiency. From a probe that transmits an ultrasonic wave to a subject and receives the ultrasonic wave coming from the subject due to the transmission, a reception signal is received and the reception signal is processed. Accordingly, a movement vector indicating a movement amount and a movement direction is calculated and a movement vector distribution is determined for a plurality of points set at least two-dimensionally in the subject. A distribution of one or more desired movement vector components is extracted from the movement vector distribution.

The invention concerns an apparatus for estimating a velocity of at least one scatterer in a medium, the apparatus comprising a generator for generating excitation signals, a curved array of virtual transducers (T.sub.1-T.sub.n) for transforming said excitation signals into Archimedean spiral waves and for: emitting said Archimedean spiral waves in a plurality of predetermined directions of propagation defined by a set of insonification angles (α.sub.i), a curvature of said curved array of virtual transducers defining a reference center (O) and a radius of curvature (r.sub.n), and for receiving, from said at least one scatterer, scattered signals generated by scattering of said Archimedean spiral waves emitted from said curved array of virtual transducers, a driving and processing unit (U.sub.c) for estimating the velocity of said at least one scatterer wherein axial and lateral velocity components are estimated using a set of local wavefront orientations (α.sub.eq,i) of the Archimedean spiral waves as a function of the initial set of insonification angles (α.sub.i), the geometry of the curved array of transducers and the distance (r) to the reference center (O), each local wavefront orientation satisfying the following formula:

[00001]${\alpha }_{\mathrm{eq},i}=\mathrm{arc}\sin \left(\frac{r_n}{r}\sin {\alpha }_i\right).$