Method and apparatus for ultrasonic beam compensation
Patent 5052394 Issued on October 1, 1991. Estimated Expiration Date: 
March 28, 2009. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.
March 28, 2009. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.Patent ReferencesBody imaging technique Frequency varied ultrasonic imaging array Ultrasonic imaging system with correction for velocity inhomogeneity and multipath interference using an ultrasonic imaging array Ultrasonic medium characterization system Ultrasonic diagnosis system Method and apparatus for compensation during ultrasound examination Patent #: 4733668 InventorsAssigneeApplicationNo. 328082 filed on 03/28/1989US Classes:600/442, Tissue attenuation or impedance measurement or compensation73/597, Velocity or propagation time measurement73/599Attenuation measurementExaminersPrimary: Jaworski, Francis J.Attorney, Agent or FirmInternational ClassA61B 008/00AbstractIn ultrasonic echoscopy, when an object to be examined has overlying layers of a medium (for example, fat, muscle, skin or bone) which have different ultrasonic transmission characteristics from those of the object, the echogram of the object is usually distorted. To reduce that distortion, the present invention uses a transducer comprising an array of ultrasonic transducer elements operated in a higher resolution mode than its normal imaging mode, to obtain information about the geometry of the overlying layers. Using this information and a knowledge of the transmission characteristics of the overlying layers, amplitude and phase corrections are calculated, to enable the transducer, when operated in its normal imaging mode, to generate a required beam of ultrasound. The corrections are then applied and an echogram of the object, with reduced distortion, is obtained while operating the transducer in its normal imaging mode. | |
