Enhanced ultrasound imaging apparatus and associated methods of work flow

1. A method of operating an ultrasound imager to perform ultrasound scanning, comprising:

receiving a first dataset representing an ultrasonic scanning of a target anatomy of a patient in a two-dimensional mode in one of a sagittal, transverse or coronal anatomical plane;

generating a first two-dimensional ultrasound image of the scanned target anatomy based on the received first dataset;

displaying the first two-dimensional ultrasound image of the scanned target anatomy;

receiving an input defining at least an orientation of a first cut line and a second cut line on the displayed first two-dimensional ultrasound image and a correspondence between the first and second cut lines and the other of the sagittal, transverse or coronal anatomical planes that are orthogonal to the plane of the first two-dimensional ultrasound image; and

thereafter, receiving a second dataset representing three-dimensional ultrasonic scanning of the target anatomy and generating and displaying ultrasound images in at least two of the sagittal, transverse and coronal anatomical planes based on (1) the three-dimensional ultrasonic scanning dataset and (2) the orientation of the first and second cut lines and their correspondence to the sagittal, transverse or coronal anatomical planes that are orthogonal to the plane of the first two-dimensional ultrasound image.

2. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the displayed first two-dimensional ultrasound image represents the sagittal anatomical plane; and

wherein receiving the input includes:

receiving placement of the first out line relative to the displayed first two-dimensional ultrasound image; and

receiving an input indicating that the first cut line corresponds to one of the transverse or coronal anatomical planes.

3. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the displayed first two-dimensional ultrasound image represents the transverse anatomical plane; and

wherein receiving the input includes:

receiving placement of the first cut line relative to the displayed two-dimensional ultrasound image; and

receiving an input indicating that the first cut line corresponds to one of the sagittal or coronal anatomical planes.

4. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the displayed first two-dimensional ultrasound image represents the sagittal anatomical plane; and

wherein receiving the input includes:

receiving placement of the first cut line and the second cut line relative to the displayed first two-dimensional ultrasound image; and

receiving an input indicating that the first cut line corresponds to the transverse anatomical plane and the second cut line corresponds to the coronal anatomical plane.

5. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the displayed first two-dimensional ultrasound image represents the transverse anatomical plane; and

wherein receiving the input includes:

receiving placement of the first cut line and the second cut line relative to the displayed first two-dimensional ultrasound image; and

receiving an input indicating that the first cut line corresponds to the sagittal anatomical plane and the second cut line corresponds to the coronal anatomical plane.

6. The method of claim , wherein receiving the first dataset comprises:

receiving signals acquired by a transducer via a beamformed transmit waveform.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the two-dimensional ultrasound image comprises:

applying beamforming to the first dataset to generate a beamformed representation;

processing the beamformed representation to form time-varying 2D or 3D images.

8. An ultrasound system, comprising:

an ultrasound scanner;

a link attached to the ultrasound scanner; and

a processing unit operatively coupled to the ultrasound scanner via the link, the processing unit having a display, a processor, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform a method comprising:

receiving a first dataset from the ultrasound scanner, the first dataset representing ultrasonic scanning of a target anatomy of a patient in a two-dimensional mode in one of a sagittal, transverse or corona anatomical planes;

generating a first two-dimensional ultrasound image of the scanned target anatomy based on the received first dataset;

displaying the generated first two-dimensional ultrasound image on the display;

receiving an input defining at least an orientation of a first cut line and a second cut line on the displayed first two-dimensional ultrasound image and a correspondence between the first and second cut lines and the others of the sagittal, transverse and coronal anatomical planes that are orthogonal to the plane of the displayed first two-dimensional ultrasound image; and

thereafter receiving a second dataset representing ultrasonic scanning of the target anatomy in a three-dimensional mode from the ultrasound scanner and generating an additional ultrasound image that is orthogonal to the anatomical plane of the first displayed ultrasound image based on (1) the three-dimensional scanning and (2) the orientation of the first and second cutline and their correspondence to the sagittal, transverse or coronal anatomical planes that are orthogonal to the anatomical plane of the first displayed ultrasound image.

9. The ultrasound system of claim 8 ,

wherein the displayed first two-dimensional ultrasound image represents the sagittal anatomical; and

wherein receiving the input includes:

receiving placement of the first cut line relative to the displayed first two-dimensional ultrasound image; and

receiving an input indicating that the first cut line corresponds to one of the transverse and coronal anatomical planes.

10. The ultrasound system of claim 8 ,

wherein the displayed first two-dimensional ultrasound image represents the transverse anatomical plane; and

wherein receiving the input includes:

receiving placement of the first cut line relative to the displayed first two-dimensional ultrasound image; and

receiving an input indicating that the first cut line corresponds to one of the transverse and coronal anatomical planes.