VIRTUAL POINT SOURCES IN ULTRASOUND IMAGING

摘要

Ultrasound methods involve generating ultrasound using virtual point sources. Apodization may be applied selectively to transducer elements to provide improved uniformity of response. Virtual point sources may be located at positions that are independent of transducer geometry. The number and/or locations of virtual point sources may be selected to cover a region of interest with a reduced number of ultrasound transmissions.

主权项

1. An ultrasound imaging method comprising:
configuring transmit delays for a plurality of transducer elements of a transducer to correspond to a virtual point source located behind the transducer; applying an apodization function to only a subset of the plurality of transmit elements, the subset of the transmit elements being those transmit elements for which ultrasound arrival times at a reference point within a target region differ between adjacent ones of the transmit elements by less than a threshold period; energizing the transmit elements according to the transmit delays and the apodization function to transmit ultrasound into the target region; and receiving at the transducer ultrasound energy reflected from the target region; and processing the reflected ultrasound energy to yield an image of the target region.