Ultrasound imaging systems for automatically adjusting settings according to an position and/or orientation of one or more interfaces. The ultrasound imaging systems can include a probe configured to send and receive ultrasound signals for performing a medical exam, a medical procedure, or both; and a processor configured to: select a diagnostics mode or a procedural mode based on an operating orientation of the ultrasound imaging system or a portion thereof, and adjust one or more settings of the imaging system according to the selected diagnostics mode or the selected procedural mode.

Embodiments provide for a support system for a portable ultrasound machine. In one example, the support system includes a carrier for an imaging display and a bracket for a beamformer, where the bracket mechanically couples to the carrier in a plurality of positions depending on a desired use of an operator of the portable ultrasound machine. In this way, operational aspects related to use of the portable ultrasound machine, and satisfaction of a user thereof, may be improved.

An otoscope uses differential reflected response of optical energy at an absorption range and an adjacent wavelength range to determine the presence of water (where the wavelengths are water absorption wavelength and adjacent non-absorption excitation wavelengths). In another example of the invention, the otoscope utilizes OCT in combination with absorption and non-absorption range for bacteria and water.

An ultrasound probe 11 includes a housing 12 having a transducer array accommodation portion 14 and a battery storage portion 13B, a transducer array accommodated in the transducer array accommodation portion 14, and a battery 21 stored in the battery storage portion 13B. The housing 12 has an attachable and detachable battery cover 17 that covers the battery storage portion 13B, a nameplate 22 is disposed on an inside or an outside of the battery storage portion 13B with respect to the battery cover 17 in a visible manner, and a waterproof structure for restraining water from entering the nameplate 22 is provided.

A modularized ultrasound apparatus utilizes a PC system such as PC case, thermal management subsystem, power supply unit, motherboard, CPU, memory, hard drive, GPU, to build an ultrasound system by inserting frontend modules integrated on PCIe expansion cards as modularized components into the PC system's PCIe expansion subsystem.

An ultrasound scanhead adapter is provided for an ultrasound scanhead, and use of the adapter and scanhead for ultrasound skin imaging is also provided. One embodiment regards an ultrasound scanhead adapter for attachment to an ultrasound scanhead, the adapter having a distal end with a frame section for contacting the skin of a subject, a height of the frame section defining a cavity, and a fixed distance between the skin surface of the subject and a top of the ultrasound scanhead during scanning, and a proximal end forming a reversible snap-fit connection to the scanhead.

An image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes: a bath an inside of which is filled with a propagation liquid and in which a test object is to be immersed; a measurement device having a group of elements that irradiates the inside of the bath with a radiation wave and receives the radiation wave, which is a scattered wave; an upper drainage detection sensor that detects draining of the propagation liquid from a top portion of the bath to outside the bath; and a liquid level control module that controls a liquid level of the propagation liquid in the inside of the bath, and the liquid level control module controls, before the test object immersed in the inside of the bath, an amount of the propagation liquid in the inside of the bath such that the liquid level becomes lower than a top end position of the bath, and performs control, after the test object is immersed in the inside of the bath, such that the propagation liquid is supplied into the inside the bath at least until the upper drainage detection sensor detects draining of the propagation liquid. As a result, in an image processing apparatus that is of an automatic scanning type and has a simple configuration, it is possible to thoroughly image a test object.

A multi-modality medical system an intravascular catheter or guidewire configured to output intravascular data, an external ultrasound probe configured to output digital ultrasound data, and a processor disposed within a multi-modality housing and configured for communication with the external ultrasound probe and the intravascular catheter or guidewire. The external ultrasound probe includes ultrasound-specific hardware, such as signal processing circuitry, sufficient to generate digital ultrasound data that can be processed into images. In an external ultrasound data acquisition mode, the processor is configured to control the external ultrasound probe to generate the digital ultrasound data, and output an external ultrasound image to a display. In an intravascular data acquisition mode, the processor is further configured to control the intravascular catheter or guidewire to generate the intravascular data, and output a graphical representation of the intravascular data to the display.

An ultrasonic imaging method includes: controlling an ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to a biological tissue under examination and receive echo signals of the biological tissue under examination, the echo signals comprising one group of channel data; beam-forming the channel data by using a first beam-forming procedure to obtain beam-formed data of a first group of beam-forming points, and generating a first ultrasonic image of the biological tissue under examination based on the beam-formed data of the first group of beam-forming points; determining a region of interest based on the first ultrasonic image; beam-forming the channel data by using a second beam-forming procedure to obtain beam-formed data of a second group of beam-forming points; generating a second ultrasonic image of the region of interest based on the beam-formed data of the second group of beam-forming points; and displaying the first and second ultrasonic images in a fusion manner.

An ultrasonic imaging method includes: detecting an imaging setting for current ultrasonic imaging before ultrasonic imaging; determining a beam forming procedure corresponding to the imaging setting from a plurality of predetermined beam forming procedures; controlling an ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to a biological tissue under examination based on the imaging setting and obtain echo signals from the biological tissue under examination; beam-forming the echo signals by the determined beam forming procedure to generate beam-formed data; generating an ultrasonic image of the biological tissue under examination based on the beam-formed data.