System and method for three-dimensional ultrasound imaging using a steerable probe

摘要

A system and a method generate a 3-D image by fast computing the distance between adjacent 2-D images. The method comprises the steps of: producing a first main frame, a second main frame parallel to the first main frame, and a supplementary frame inclined at an angle with respect to the first main frame; creating a virtual frame by using the first main frame and the supplementary frame; calculating a first correlation coefficient between the first main frame and the virtual frame; computing a second correlation coefficient between the first and second main frames; and estimating a distance between the first and second main frames. The system comprises a probe for generating pairs of image frames; a distance calculating unit for calculating distances between main frames of the pairs; and a screen for displaying a 3-D image of the target produced by using the distances.