Granted Patent B2

US 12,481,044 · App. 17/810,315 · Granted Nov 25, 2025

Inventors: Rui Luo (Wuhan, CN); Cheng He (Wuhan, CN); Oliver Heid (Erlangen, DE)

Assignee: WUHAN UNITED IMAGING HEALTHCARE CO., LTD.

G01S7/52046A61B8/00G01S7/52034G01S15/8993

Abstract

Claims (61)

1 . A method implemented on a computing device having a processor and a computer-readable storage device, the method comprising:

obtaining ultrasound signals of pixels of at least one region, wherein the ultrasound signals are generated based on a scanning protocol, the scanning protocol including virtual focuses of a plurality of transmissions of ultrasound waves from an ultrasound scanner and an interval between each pair of consecutive transmissions of the plurality of transmissions, the virtual focuses are far-field virtual focuses;

generating a plurality of primary images of the at least one region corresponding to the plurality of transmissions, each of the plurality of primary images being generated by beamforming an ultrasound signal of each pixel of the at least one region corresponding to one of the plurality of transmissions; and

generating an ultrasonic image of a subject located in the at least one region by combining or fusing the plurality of primary images corresponding to the plurality of transmissions, each primary image of the plurality of primary images corresponding to one transmission of the plurality of transmissions, and the virtual focuses of each transmission of the plurality of transmissions are far-field virtual focuses.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the generating a plurality of primary images of the at least one region corresponding to the plurality of transmissions includes:

for each of the plurality of transmissions,

determining a signal sequence of each pixel of the at least one region by demodulating an ultrasonic signal of the pixel corresponding to the transmission;

determining, based on the signal sequence of the pixel, a value of each pixel of the at least one region corresponding to the transmission; and

generating a primary image of the at least one region corresponding to the transmission based on the value of each pixel of the at least one region.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the determining, based on the signal sequence of the pixel, a value of each pixel of the at least one region corresponding to the transmission includes:

determining target beamforming parameters of each pixel of the at least one region corresponding to the transmission; and

determining the value of each pixel based on the signal sequence of the pixel and the target beamforming parameters of the pixel corresponding to the transmission.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein

the target beamforming parameters of each pixel include at least one of a total count of detecting members of a detector of the ultrasound scanner, delay times regarding the pixel, angular weights of the pixel, or a distance weight of the pixel, and

the determining the value of each pixel based on the signal sequence of the pixel and the target beamforming parameters of the pixel includes:

determining the value of each pixel based on the signal sequence of the pixel and at least one of the target beamforming parameters of the pixel.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the delay times of the pixel are determined based on coordinates of each of the detecting members, coordinates of the pixel, and coordinates of a far-field virtual focus corresponding to the transmission.

6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the angular weights of the pixel are determined based on angles between normal directions of the detecting members of the detector and a target direction of ultrasound signal of the pixel.

7 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the distance weight of the pixel is determined based on coordinates of the pixel and coordinates of a far-field virtual focus corresponding to the transmission.

8 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the determining target beamforming parameters of each pixel of the at least one region corresponding to the transmission includes:

obtaining a type of a detector of the ultrasound scanner; and

identifying the target beamforming parameters of each pixel of the at least one region from a mapping table according to the type of the detector, wherein the mapping table includes correspondence relationships between beamforming parameters of pixels of the at least one region and a plurality of types of the detector.

9 . The method of claim 2 , further including:

performing an interpolation on the signal sequence of each pixel of the at least one region based on an interpolation approach and delay times of the pixel, wherein the value of each pixel of the at least one region is determined based on the interpolated signal sequence of the pixel.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein

the plurality of transmissions of ultrasound waves of the ultrasound scanner are from one or more detecting members of a convex array detector of the ultrasound scanner, and

the generating an ultrasonic image of a subject in the at least one region based on the plurality of primary images corresponding to the plurality of transmissions includes:

generating a secondary image of the subject in the at least one region by combining the plurality of primary images corresponding to the plurality of transmissions;

determining coordinates of pixels in the secondary image with respect to a first coordinate system, wherein an origin of the first coordinate system is located at a mid-point of a tangent line segment of at least one central detecting member of the detecting members of the detector; and

generating the ultrasonic image of the subject in the at least one region by performing a coordinate conversion on the pixels in the secondary image according to a relationship between the first coordinate system and a second coordinate system, wherein an origin of the second coordinate system is located at a center point of the convex array detector.

11 . A system, comprising:

at least one storage medium including a set of instructions; and

at least one processor configured to communicate with the at least one storage medium, wherein when executing the set of instructions, the at least one processor is configured to direct the system to perform operations including:

obtaining ultrasound signals of pixels of at least one region, wherein the ultrasound signals are generated based on a scanning protocol, the scanning protocol including virtual focuses of a plurality of transmissions of ultrasound waves from an ultrasound scanner and an interval between each pair of consecutive transmissions of the plurality of transmissions, the virtual focuses are far-field virtual focuses;

generating a plurality of primary images of the at least one region corresponding to the plurality of transmissions, each of the plurality of primary images being generated by beamforming an ultrasound signal of each pixel of the at least one region corresponding to one of the plurality of transmissions; and

generating an ultrasonic image of a subject located in the at least one region by combining or fusing the plurality of primary images corresponding to the plurality of transmissions, each primary image of the plurality of primary images corresponding to one transmission of the plurality of transmissions, and the virtual focuses of each transmission of the plurality of transmissions are far-field virtual focuses.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein one of the far-field virtual focuses refers to a virtual focus outside an imaging region of a detector of the ultrasound scanner.

13 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the value of each pixel of the at least one region corresponding to the transmission is determined based on the signal sequence of the pixel, at least one of target beamforming parameters of the pixel, or one or more beamforming functions.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the beamforming an ultrasound signal of each pixel of the at least one region corresponding to one of the plurality of transmissions includes:

for each of the plurality of transmissions,

performing a beamforming operation on the ultrasound signal of the each pixel of the at least one region corresponding to the transmission, the beamforming operation is associated with the at least one region instead of scanning lines; and

generating a primary image corresponding to the transmission based on a beamforming result of each pixel of the at least one region.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the beamforming an ultrasound signal of each pixel of the at least one region corresponding to one of the plurality of transmissions includes:

for each of the plurality of transmissions,

identifying one or more target beamforming parameters of the each pixel of the at least one region corresponding to the transmission from a pre-established mapping table according to a type of a detector of the ultrasound scanner;

determining a value of each pixel based on a signal sequence of each pixel of the at least one region and the one or more target beamforming parameters of the pixel of the at least one region; and

generating the primary image of the at least one region corresponding to the transmission based on values of the pixels of the at least one region.

16 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

performing an interpolation on the signal sequence of each pixel of the at least one region based on a modified interpolation approach and delay times of the pixel, wherein the modified interpolation approach includes a modification on the interpolation, the modification relates to at least one parameter of an amplitude, a phase, or a frequency of the ultrasound signal of the pixel.

17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a size of a synthetic aperture for each of the plurality of transmissions corresponding to the far-field virtual focuses is different among different transmissions.

18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the obtaining ultrasound signals of pixels of at least one region includes:

dynamically determining a synthetic aperture for each of one or more transmissions corresponding to the far-field virtual focuses based on a total count of detecting members of a detector of the ultrasound scanner and a directivity angle of each detecting member of the detector;

scanning the subject in the one or more transmissions of ultrasound waves through corresponding synthetic apertures; and

generating the ultrasound signals corresponding to the one or more transmissions.

19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

dynamically determining a size of the synthetic aperture for each of the one or more transmissions based on a first condition and a second condition, wherein the first condition includes a size of the synthetic aperture is smaller than the total count of detecting members of the detector, the second condition includes an angle defined by a centerline of the detector and radiuses of the detector passing through two intersections is smaller than a maximum directivity angle of the detecting members of the detector;

wherein the two intersections are determined based on a line formed by each of two transmission boundaries of the each transmission and the detecting members of the detector, the two transmission boundaries of the each transmission are boundaries of ultrasound waves propagated from a virtual focus corresponding to the each transmission.

20 . The method of claim 19 , further comprising:

determining the two transmission boundaries of each transmission based on the total count of detecting members of the detector, the directivity angle of each detecting member of the detector, and a focus corresponding to each transmission;

determining an intersection between each of the two transmission boundaries of each transmission and a line formed by the detecting members of the detector; and

determining a local count of detecting members of the detector on a portion of a line between the two intersections, and designating the local count of the detecting members of the detector as the size of the synthetic aperture for each transmission.

Assignments (2)

Priority Claims (2)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (100)