System and method for configuring the locus of focal points of ultrasound beams

摘要

The invention provides a method for controlling, in an ultrasound system, the loci of maximum power regions (e.g., focal points) of plural transmit lines of an ultrasound scan. Initially, a region being imaged is displayed and the user superimposes on the display a desired path to be traced by the loci of focal points of a scanned ultrasound beam. Data defining the path is then used to control an ultrasound transducer to produce a sequence of ultrasound beams that scan the region and to adjust the foci of the individual ultrasound beams so that they track the desired path. It is preferred that a graphical input device be used to trace the path of the loci on the display. The invention further enables data derived from the selected loci of maximum power regions to enable adjustment of both power and focal depth of the respective beams.