Systems and methods for multi-level vascular imaging for construction and display of vasculature from large to small vessels and micro-vessels using a combination of varying resolution contrast enhanced ultrasound flow imaging modalities are disclosed. While one or more resolution flow imaging modes may be employed for imaging large to small vessels of a vascular tree within a large region of interest, a high resolution mode, such as super resolution imaging, constructed for delineation of the microvascular morphology and directional microcirculation is provided within one or more small ROIs placed in selected locations within the larger ROI.

An ultrasound imaging system may acquire short and/or undersampled radiofrequency ensembles for generating color Doppler images. The ultrasound imaging system may process the short and/or undersampled ensembles to simulate color Doppler images acquired from long radiofrequency ensembles. In some examples, the ultrasound imaging system may include a neural networks to process the ensembles. In some examples, the neural network may include two serial neural networks. In some examples, during training of the neural network, a power Doppler-based flow mask may be used on the output of the neural network. In some examples, during training of the neural network, an adversarial loss may be used on the output of the neural network.

An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus includes: a two-dimensional (2D) transducer array in which a plurality of transducers that transmit/receive an ultrasound signal to/from an object are arranged in two dimensions; an analog beamformer configured to perform analog beamforming in a first direction, and perform analog beamforming in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction on signals respectively received by the plurality of transducers; and a digital beamformer configured to perform digital beamforming on the signals that are analog-beamformed in the first direction, and perform digital beamforming on the signals that are analog-beamformed in the second direction.

Methods and systems are provided for color flow ultrasound imaging. In one embodiment, a method comprises acquiring color flow data, detecting, with a neural network, a flash artifact in the color flow data, adjusting an adaptive filter cutoff of a clutter filter based on a classification result of the neural network, filtering, with the clutter filter, the flash artifact from the color flow data, and displaying a color flow image generated from the filtered color flow data. In this way, strong flash artifacts caused by strong tissue movement or probe movement may be dynamically suppressed during color flow ultrasound imaging.

An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus including a hardware processor that: calculates a plurality of eigenvectors by performing principal component analysis on a time-series reflection wave data group; calculates a principal frequency component of a time direction represented by the plurality of eigenvectors; determines a reduction rate of each of the plurality of eigenvectors on a basis of the principal frequency component of each of the plurality of eigenvectors and a clutter component reduction condition that defines a reference frequency for reduction of a clutter component; calculates a filter coefficient for reduction of the clutter component on a basis of the plurality of eigenvectors, and the reduction rate corresponding to each of the plurality of eigenvectors; and generates blood flow image data by applying the filter coefficient to the time-series reflection wave data group.

An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus includes: a two-dimensional (2D) transducer array in which a plurality of transducers that transmit/receive an ultrasound signal to/from an object are arranged in two dimensions; an analog beamformer configured to perform analog beamforming in a first direction, and perform analog beamforming in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction on signals respectively received by the plurality of transducers; and a digital beamformer configured to perform digital beamforming on the signals that are analog-beamformed in the first direction, and perform digital beamforming on the signals that are analog-beamformed in the second direction.

An ultrasonic image is obtained from a bias-switchable row-column array transducer. A row channel data set is obtained by applying a bias voltage pattern to groups of row electrodes, the bias voltage pattern being chosen such that row electrodes within each group have the same bias voltage; transmitting a waveform along each of the plurality of row electrodes; and recording received column signals from each of the plurality of column electrodes. A column channel data set is obtained by applying a bias voltage pattern to groups of column electrodes, the bias voltage pattern being chosen such that column electrodes within each group have the same bias voltage; transmitting a waveform along each of the plurality of column electrodes; and recording received row signals from each of the plurality of row electrodes.

A system and method for enhancing visualization of color flow ultrasound is provided. The method includes generating estimated parameter values from filtered ultrasound image data. The method includes applying filter thresholds to the estimated parameter values, wherein the filter thresholds comprise first and second high power rejection thresholds and first and second low power and low velocity rejection thresholds. The method includes applying a transparency map to the estimated parameter values between the first and second high power rejection thresholds and between the first and second low power and low velocity rejection thresholds. The method includes generating a color flow image based at least in part on the estimated parameter values. The method includes presenting the color flow image at a display system.

A device and method for imaging, measuring and identifying multiphase fluid flow in wellbores using phased array Doppler ultrasound. The device includes a radially-configured or ring-shaped ultrasound transducer that when deployed in a well in Doppler mode can measure the velocity of radially flowing fluids in the wellbore and generate a 3D image of radial flow in the wellbore, including flowback into the wellbore after fracturing operations, or flow leaving the wellbore during water injection operations. The ring-shaped ultrasound transducer can also simultaneously operate in a B-mode to generate a B-mode image of the wellbore liner upon which the Doppler image can be overlaid. The device may also include a forward facing ultrasound transducer either instead of or in place of the ring-shaped transducer for obtaining information and images on axial flow in the wellbore in Doppler mode, and the location of phase boundaries and phase locations in B-mode.

An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system is used to measure volume flow. An ultrasound probe operating in the biplane mode is used to acquire a vessel in a long axis view in a first Doppler image, and simultaneously in a transverse view in a second Doppler image. Volume flow is calculated from the transverse view of the vessel. The plane of the second image is aligned with the Doppler angle of the first image so that angle correction determined for the first image can be used for angle correction in the volume flow calculation.