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WO1998011824A1 - Dispositif d'imagerie ameliore en temps reel et en trois dimensions utilisant la retroprojection ellipsoidale - Google Patents

Dispositif d'imagerie ameliore en temps reel et en trois dimensions utilisant la retroprojection ellipsoidale Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1998011824A1
WO1998011824A1 PCT/US1996/014903 US9614903W WO9811824A1 WO 1998011824 A1 WO1998011824 A1 WO 1998011824A1 US 9614903 W US9614903 W US 9614903W WO 9811824 A1 WO9811824 A1 WO 9811824A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
ring
echo
annular array
time history
samples
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Ceased
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PCT/US1996/014903
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English (en)
Inventor
Forrest Anderson
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Individual
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Priority to PCT/US1996/014903 priority Critical patent/WO1998011824A1/fr
Priority to AU71119/96A priority patent/AU7111996A/en
Publication of WO1998011824A1 publication Critical patent/WO1998011824A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S15/00—Systems using the reflection or reradiation of acoustic waves, e.g. sonar systems
    • G01S15/88—Sonar systems specially adapted for specific applications
    • G01S15/89—Sonar systems specially adapted for specific applications for mapping or imaging
    • G01S15/8906—Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques
    • G01S15/8909—Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques using a static transducer configuration
    • G01S15/8915—Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques using a static transducer configuration using a transducer array
    • G01S15/8922—Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques using a static transducer configuration using a transducer array the array being concentric or annular
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06T—IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
    • G06T11/00—2D [Two Dimensional] image generation
    • G06T11/003—Reconstruction from projections, e.g. tomography
    • G06T11/006—Inverse problem, transformation from projection-space into object-space, e.g. transform methods, back-projection, algebraic methods
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06T—IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
    • G06T2211/00—Image generation
    • G06T2211/40—Computed tomography
    • G06T2211/421—Filtered back projection [FBP]

Definitions

  • This invention relates to the real time, two or three dimensional imaging of the anatomy,--ie. a real time 2D or 3D medical ultrasound machine, and imaging device employing ring at a time transmitter synthesis.
  • Non interfering or “interference free” for purposes of this application as there is little constructive and destructive interference and therefore strong grating lobes will not be formed when using a sparse array.
  • a wideband white noise pulse is an extreme example.
  • These types of pulses also can propagate relatively uniformly through a wide solid angle. Further discussion of these types of pulses may be found in "Random Data:Analysis and Measurement Procedures" by Bendat and Piersol. Periodic, oscillating,
  • interfering pulses of a particular class may also be used for imaging if additional echo processing occurs before image reconstruction (such as echo time history convolution with a matched filter impulse response) or without additional processing if some image degradation is allowable.
  • the pulses must be of short enough duration to allow adequate lateral and range resolution.
  • a pulse of several sinusoidal cycles may be used if the total pulse duration, or length, is of the same order as the required resolution.
  • Ellipsoidal Backprojection is a method for the active imaging of a three dimensional volume using a single transmitted pulse or greatly reduced number of transmitted pulses and is discussed in detail in the previously mentioned patents and patent applications.
  • a short pulse of energy is transmitted which radiates outward, as an expanding sphere, through a wide solid angle. Echoes are received by a sparse array of receiver elements and, typically, then digitized into echo samples. These samples (which may be filtered first) are then backprojected over ellipsoids through the image by one means or another. The results constitute, basically, the reconstructed image, although additional processing steps may be implemented.
  • the point spread function is the image of a point object as reconstructed by the imaging system.
  • the final, reconstructed image is, essentially, the convolution of the point spread function with the original object to be imaged. This is well known and is described in: Introduction to Fourier Optics - Goodman; Linear Systems, Fourier Transforms, and Optics - Gaskill; or The Fourier Transform and its Application to Optics - Duffiuex.
  • the point spread function determines the imaging capabilities of a linear imaging system.
  • This invention will provide a two or three dimensional image after transmitting a pulse (or reduced number of pulses) of energy using the echoes received by a closely spaced or sparse array of receiver elements. It can use small point like transmitters, one or more annular array transmitters, large curved transmitters, a large flat transmitter, or an annular array. The use these transmitters are discussed in detail in the other patents which have been incorporated by reference and are discussed further here.
  • An annular array can be used, in defocused mode, to synthesize a large extended transmitters of differing radius. Thus a very large number of transmitters can be synthesized using an annular array containing only a few actual transmitter elements.
  • Each echo sample at each receiver element represents the integral of the imaged object field over an ellipsoid (or paraboloid) of revolution.
  • the echo samples are 'projections' of the field of objects over ellipsoids (or paraboloids) of revolution.
  • Reconstruction is done by backprojection of these projections.
  • the backprojection algorithm is simple and fast.
  • Various filters may be applied to the echo samples before backprojection. These filters can sharpen the image, reduce the sidelobe levels, or compensate for propagation phenomena.
  • the inverse triplet filter is particularly effective.
  • the particular imaging device of the present invention utilizes ring at a time annular array point transmitter synthesis and comprises an array of annular rings, means for separately firing each ring of the array, ring echo time history memories for separately storing echos resulting from the firing of each ring, ring echo address derivation means for addressing the echoes of the history memories which subtracts the annular array delays from the final echo sampler addresses to select the appropriate ring echo time history memory echo samples, ring echo combines means for combining the selected memory echo samples and an ellipsoidal backprojection image reconstruction processor for constructing the images from the combined echo samples.
  • Fig. 1 shows ring at a time annular array point transmitter synthesis.
  • Fig. 2 shows the ring echo combination algorithm.
  • Fig. 3 shows a block diagram for ring echo address derivation.
  • the sidelobe performance in ellipsoidal backprojection is a function of the Number of backprojected ellipsoids passing through each image reconstruction voxel, or point. (This Number is the same as the number of echo samples summed by the ellipsoidal backprojection process to reconstruct one image voxel.)
  • the Number is equal to the number of receiver elements time the number of synthesized point transmitters (if an annular array transmitter is used).
  • the number of synthesized transmitters used in real time imaging, at 30 frames per second, is limited by the finite velocity of the ultrasonic pulses (if a 20 cm imaging depth is to be achieved) to approximately 128 synthesized point transmitters.
  • the physics limits the obtainable image quality if the echo data is required to be obtained in 33 ms (re. 30 frames a second). It is important that data be acquired in 33 ms so that blurring due to motion of the imaged patient does not occur.
  • This limitation can be overcome by using the annular array a 'Ring at a Time' so that after firing each annular array ring and collecting separate Ring Echo Time History sets for each ring, an unlimited number of point transmitters can be synthesized from the resulting echoes.
  • FIG. 1 shows a block diagram for implementing Ring at a Time. To keep the drawing simple and facilitate understanding, one 3 element annular array (3, 4, 5) and one receiver element E1 (2) are shown. First ring R1 (5) is fired. The echoes from ring R1 are stored in Ring Echo Time History Memory
  • Ring Echo Time History Memory R2 TH (7).
  • ring R3 (3) is fired.
  • the echoes from ring R3 are stored in Ring Echo Time History Memory R3 TH (8).
  • the echoes from the Ring Echo Time History Memories (9) are summed together by the Ring Echo Combiner adder (13).
  • the echoes to be combined are selected by the Ring Echo Time History Memory Addresses: A1 , A2, A3 (10, 11 , 12).
  • the resultant combined echoes are stored in one of the synthesized point transmitter echo time history memories (14, 15, 16), specifically zstl th (14).
  • the resulting echo time history can be used by the ellipsoidal backprojection image reconstruction hardware as if it originated from a defocused annular array where all the ring where fired, appropriately phased or delayed, at one time. It remains to discuss how to create the addresses A1 , A2, A3 (Ring
  • FIG. 2 shows the geometry for ring echo combination.
  • a sample image reconstruction point P (4) is shown as is a simple 3 ring annular array (15, 16, 17) consisting of rings: R1 (15), R2 (16), and R3 (17). Any number of virtual point transmitters, for example T1, T2, T3 (18, 19, 20), can be synthesized. For this example the point transmitter T1 (18) lying at a distance zstl (14) in the negative z direction on the annular array's axis (7) will be used.
  • a virtual spherical wave of radius RW (10) is shown (6) which has T1 as its center.
  • dR1 (21), dR2 (22), and dR3 (23) are the distances from T1 to rings R1 , R2, and R3.
  • the rings have radii r1 (11), r2 (12), and r3 (13), and the distances are found to be the square root of the sum of the squares of the radius and zstl, as before.
  • Figure 3 shows a block diagram for Ring Echo Address Derivation.
  • Delays delayl , delay2, and delay3 for all possible values of zst are stored in a ROM look up table (2).
  • the ROM is addressed by zst (1) which is the location of the desired synthesized point transmitter along the negative z axis.
  • the ROM's outputs are delayl (4), delay2 (5), and delay3 (6).
  • the echo sample address for the synthesized point transmitter echo time history memories is SN (3). This is the address of particular the synthesized point transmitter echo time history memory echo sample (the "Final Echo Sample Address") that is to be synthesized by combining one echo sample from each of the ring echo time history memories.
  • the appropriate ring echo time history memory addresses A1 (10), A2 (11), and A3 (12) are generated by adders (7,

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Radar, Positioning & Navigation (AREA)
  • Remote Sensing (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Algebra (AREA)
  • Mathematical Analysis (AREA)
  • Mathematical Optimization (AREA)
  • Mathematical Physics (AREA)
  • Pure & Applied Mathematics (AREA)
  • Ultra Sonic Daignosis Equipment (AREA)
  • Measurement Of Velocity Or Position Using Acoustic Or Ultrasonic Waves (AREA)

Abstract

Dispositif d'imagerie particulier qui utilise la synthèse d'émetteurs ponctuels de groupement annulaire à excitation d'un anneau à la fois et comporte un groupement d'anneaux annulaires (3 - 5), des moyens permettant d'exciter séparément sur chaque anneau du groupe, des mémoires (6 - 8) d'histoire de temps d'écho d'anneau destinées à stocker séparément des échos résultant de l'excitation de chaque anneau, des moyens (10 - 12) de dérivation d'adresse d'anneau permettant l'adressage des échos des mémoires d'histoire qui soustraient les retards de groupement annulaire des adresses d'échantillonneur d'écho final pour sélectionner les échantillons d'écho de mémoire d'histoire de temps d'écho d'anneau et un processeur de reconstitution d'image à rétroprojection ellipsoïdale permettant de reconstituer les images à partir des échantillons d'écho combinés.
PCT/US1996/014903 1996-09-17 1996-09-17 Dispositif d'imagerie ameliore en temps reel et en trois dimensions utilisant la retroprojection ellipsoidale Ceased WO1998011824A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/US1996/014903 WO1998011824A1 (fr) 1996-09-17 1996-09-17 Dispositif d'imagerie ameliore en temps reel et en trois dimensions utilisant la retroprojection ellipsoidale
AU71119/96A AU7111996A (en) 1996-09-17 1996-09-17 Improved real time 3d imaging device using ellipsoidal backprojection

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/US1996/014903 WO1998011824A1 (fr) 1996-09-17 1996-09-17 Dispositif d'imagerie ameliore en temps reel et en trois dimensions utilisant la retroprojection ellipsoidale

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WO1998011824A1 true WO1998011824A1 (fr) 1998-03-26

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN105760632A (zh) * 2016-03-29 2016-07-13 中国科学院国家空间科学中心 一种基于贝塞尔函数的稀布同心圆环阵的设计方法

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5090245A (en) * 1986-05-02 1992-02-25 Anderson Forrest L Three dimensional imaging device using filtered ellipsoidal backprojection
US5134884A (en) * 1986-05-02 1992-08-04 Forrest Anderson Single pulse imaging device
US5235857A (en) * 1986-05-02 1993-08-17 Forrest Anderson Real time 3D imaging device using filtered ellipsoidal backprojection with extended transmitters
US5465722A (en) * 1991-12-11 1995-11-14 Fort; J. Robert Synthetic aperture ultrasound imaging system
US5563346A (en) * 1994-02-21 1996-10-08 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Method and device for imaging an object using a two-dimensional ultrasonic array

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5090245A (en) * 1986-05-02 1992-02-25 Anderson Forrest L Three dimensional imaging device using filtered ellipsoidal backprojection
US5134884A (en) * 1986-05-02 1992-08-04 Forrest Anderson Single pulse imaging device
US5235857A (en) * 1986-05-02 1993-08-17 Forrest Anderson Real time 3D imaging device using filtered ellipsoidal backprojection with extended transmitters
US5465722A (en) * 1991-12-11 1995-11-14 Fort; J. Robert Synthetic aperture ultrasound imaging system
US5563346A (en) * 1994-02-21 1996-10-08 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Method and device for imaging an object using a two-dimensional ultrasonic array

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN105760632A (zh) * 2016-03-29 2016-07-13 中国科学院国家空间科学中心 一种基于贝塞尔函数的稀布同心圆环阵的设计方法
CN105760632B (zh) * 2016-03-29 2019-02-26 中国科学院国家空间科学中心 一种基于贝塞尔函数的稀布同心圆环阵的设计方法

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Publication number Publication date
AU7111996A (en) 1998-04-14

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