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8607466 Echograph probe and echograph provided with such a probe
Ultrasound in Med. & Biol. Vol. 13, No. 8, pp. 501-502 1987 0301-5629/87 $3.00 + .00 Printed in the U.S.A. (c) 1987 Pergamon Journals, Ltd. All rights reserved.
NEW P A T E N T S This Section contains abstracts (without graphics) of recently issued United States patents and published patent applications filed from over 30 countries under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. This information was obtained from recent additions to the Pergamon PATSEARCH ~ online database in accordance with interest profiles developed by the Editors. Further information about Pergamon PATSEARCH ~ can be obtained from Pergamon InfoLine Inc., 1340 Old Chain Bridge Road, McLean, Virginia 22101 U.S.A. Copies of complete patents announced in this Section are available from Pergamon InfoLine Inc. for $8 per copy. Payment with order is required. Orders outside North America add $2 for air postage. Order by patent number for Pergamon InfoLine only.
4630612
4632124 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DELAYING AN ULTRASOUND SIGNAL
ULTRASONIC DIAGNOSTIC APPARATUS
Dietma Hiller, UIric Saugeon, Erlangen, Federal Republic Of Germany assigned to Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Rokuro Uchida, Katsuhiko Nagasaki, Yasunori Miyake, Michio Ohno, Hitoshi Takeichi, Hiroji Matsumoto, Tokyo, Japan assigned to Aloka Co Ltd; Hayashi Electric Co Ltd
In medical ultrasonic technology (in particular with phased arrays) it is necessary to delay in time a plurality of received ultrasound signals and subsequently to add them after they are as nearly in phase as possible. The delay times required for this purpose are approximately between 0 and 10 rlus. The ultrasound signal is analyzed as to envelope and a sign. The envelope is then delayed either in analog (e.g. with LC delay lines) or digitally (e.g. with shift registers) through a delay means which is adjustable in coarse time steps of e.g. 500 ns. The sign signal corresponding to the sign of the ultrasound signal is delayed via a digital delay section which is adjustable in small time steps of e.g. 50 ns. Phase coherence to other ultrasound signals can be established. Thereafter the delayed sign signal and the delayed envelope signal are multiplied one by the other in a multiplier. Thereafter the output signal is filtered in a low-pass filter. The output from the low-pass filter then represents the delayed form of the ultrasound signal.
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of providing a B-mode tomographic image of and Doppler information on a moving member in a living subject. The apparatus comprises a cursor setting device which supplies a signal for displaying a cursor at a prescribed position on a Bmode display, echo tracking circuits which cause markers to track the image signals of a prescribed moving member at optionally selected positions on the cursor, marker setting devices for setting the initial positions of the markers, a synthesizer for synthesizing and sending to the B-mode display a B-mode image signal and marker image signals from the echo tracking circuits, and a position measuring circuit for measuring the position of the prescribed moving member on the cursor on the basis of the marker image signals from the echo tracking circuits. The apparatus can display a moving member, for example a blood vessel, within the subject as a Bmode picture which tracks the position of the moving member as it moves and can further electrically output the position of the moving member. As a result, it is possible to electrically store or process the position of the blood vessel. In particular, the apparatus makes it possible to easily and accurately measure blood vessels in the circulatory system, the amount of blood flowing through such vessels, and the volume of internal organs.
8607466 ECHOGRAPH PROBE AND E C H O G R A P H P R O V I D E D WITH SUCH A PROBE Charles M A E R F E L D , L'Orpiguiere, Chemin de la Constance, F-06600 Antibes, France assigned to C G R U L T R A S O N I C
4
501
502
New Patents
Homogenization of the directivity of an acoustic probe is obtained by interpositioning an absorbing blade (14). The thickness (i) of the blade varies as a function of the coordinates of the blade points. The material of the blade has a frequency-dependent absorption coefficient in
relation to the frequency. It is shown that the figure of directivity (x)z() of a probe to which a blade has been fitted is independent of the working frequency. The invention is particularly applied to medical echography for tissular characterization.
For information about P A T S E A R C H ~
Pergamon InfoLine Inc. 1340 Old Chain Bridge Road McLean, Virginia 22101 USA Telephone (703) 442-0900 Telex: 90-1811
Pergamon InfoLine Limited 12 Vandy Street London EC2A 2DE England Telephone (01) 377-4650 Telex: 8814614
Pergamon Press Canada Ltd 150 Consumers Road, Suite 104 Willowdale, Ontario Canada M2J 1P9 Telephone (416) 497-8337
NEW P A T E N T S This Section contains abstracts (without graphics) of recently issued United States patents and published patent applications filed from over 30 countries under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. This information was obtained from recent additions to the Pergamon PATSEARCH ~ online database in accordance with interest profiles developed by the Editors. Further information about Pergamon PATSEARCH ~ can be obtained from Pergamon InfoLine Inc., 1340 Old Chain Bridge Road, McLean, Virginia 22101 U.S.A. Copies of complete patents announced in this Section are available from Pergamon InfoLine Inc. for $8 per copy. Payment with order is required. Orders outside North America add $2 for air postage. Order by patent number for Pergamon InfoLine only.
4630612
4632124 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DELAYING AN ULTRASOUND SIGNAL
ULTRASONIC DIAGNOSTIC APPARATUS
Dietma Hiller, UIric Saugeon, Erlangen, Federal Republic Of Germany assigned to Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Rokuro Uchida, Katsuhiko Nagasaki, Yasunori Miyake, Michio Ohno, Hitoshi Takeichi, Hiroji Matsumoto, Tokyo, Japan assigned to Aloka Co Ltd; Hayashi Electric Co Ltd
In medical ultrasonic technology (in particular with phased arrays) it is necessary to delay in time a plurality of received ultrasound signals and subsequently to add them after they are as nearly in phase as possible. The delay times required for this purpose are approximately between 0 and 10 rlus. The ultrasound signal is analyzed as to envelope and a sign. The envelope is then delayed either in analog (e.g. with LC delay lines) or digitally (e.g. with shift registers) through a delay means which is adjustable in coarse time steps of e.g. 500 ns. The sign signal corresponding to the sign of the ultrasound signal is delayed via a digital delay section which is adjustable in small time steps of e.g. 50 ns. Phase coherence to other ultrasound signals can be established. Thereafter the delayed sign signal and the delayed envelope signal are multiplied one by the other in a multiplier. Thereafter the output signal is filtered in a low-pass filter. The output from the low-pass filter then represents the delayed form of the ultrasound signal.
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of providing a B-mode tomographic image of and Doppler information on a moving member in a living subject. The apparatus comprises a cursor setting device which supplies a signal for displaying a cursor at a prescribed position on a Bmode display, echo tracking circuits which cause markers to track the image signals of a prescribed moving member at optionally selected positions on the cursor, marker setting devices for setting the initial positions of the markers, a synthesizer for synthesizing and sending to the B-mode display a B-mode image signal and marker image signals from the echo tracking circuits, and a position measuring circuit for measuring the position of the prescribed moving member on the cursor on the basis of the marker image signals from the echo tracking circuits. The apparatus can display a moving member, for example a blood vessel, within the subject as a Bmode picture which tracks the position of the moving member as it moves and can further electrically output the position of the moving member. As a result, it is possible to electrically store or process the position of the blood vessel. In particular, the apparatus makes it possible to easily and accurately measure blood vessels in the circulatory system, the amount of blood flowing through such vessels, and the volume of internal organs.
8607466 ECHOGRAPH PROBE AND E C H O G R A P H P R O V I D E D WITH SUCH A PROBE Charles M A E R F E L D , L'Orpiguiere, Chemin de la Constance, F-06600 Antibes, France assigned to C G R U L T R A S O N I C
4
501
502
New Patents
Homogenization of the directivity of an acoustic probe is obtained by interpositioning an absorbing blade (14). The thickness (i) of the blade varies as a function of the coordinates of the blade points. The material of the blade has a frequency-dependent absorption coefficient in
relation to the frequency. It is shown that the figure of directivity (x)z() of a probe to which a blade has been fitted is independent of the working frequency. The invention is particularly applied to medical echography for tissular characterization.
For information about P A T S E A R C H ~
Pergamon InfoLine Inc. 1340 Old Chain Bridge Road McLean, Virginia 22101 USA Telephone (703) 442-0900 Telex: 90-1811
Pergamon InfoLine Limited 12 Vandy Street London EC2A 2DE England Telephone (01) 377-4650 Telex: 8814614
Pergamon Press Canada Ltd 150 Consumers Road, Suite 104 Willowdale, Ontario Canada M2J 1P9 Telephone (416) 497-8337