Steering angle adjustment of scan lines using virtual transducer elements in an ultrasound system

摘要

Embodiments forming an ultrasound image by adjusting a steering angle (¸) of scan lines using virtual transducer elements (132B) in an ultrasound system are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a processing unit forms a first ultrasound image by using the ultrasound data, which may be acquired based on first scan lines steered at a first steering angle. The processing unit determines a center of the target object (VC) on the first ultrasound image. A control unit defines virtual transducer elements (132B) associated with an array transducer (132A), defines second scan lines and computes a second steering angle (¸) of the second scan lines based on the virtual transducer elements (132B) and the center of the target object (VC). An ultrasound data acquisition unit forms second ultrasound data based on the second scan lines steered at the second steering angle (¸). The processing unit forms a second ultrasound image by using the second ultrasound data.