Patent EP0070139A1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0070139A1
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EP
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Arc scan ultrasonic imaging system having diverging lens and path-length compensator
Assignee: Panasonic Holdings Corp
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Filing: 1982-07-06
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2002-07-06
Abstract
Abstract An ultrasonic imaging system comprises a transducer array (10) including a plurality of elongated piezoelectric transducers successively arranged along a curved surface for emission of diverging beams of acoustic energy and an acoustic diverging lens affixed to the curved surface for increasing the angle of divergence of the emitted acoustic energy. The system includes a source (48) for successively generating burst energy and means (41-45) for selectively establishing a connection from the energy source to a subarray of the transducers to transmit a beam of acoustic energy therefrom and shifting the connection to the next subarray by at least one transducer in response to the generation of subsequent acoustic energy to cause the emitted acoustic energy to be angulated in an arc scan format. Means are provided for compensating for differences in energy level resulting from the differences in the path-length of the acoustic lens.
Inventors
- 👤 Yoshihiro Hayakawa
- 👤 Hiroshi Fukukita
- 👤 Tsutomu Yano
- 👤 Akira Fukumoto
- 👤 Ryobun Tachita
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 06:11
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S7/00; G01S7/52; G01S7/52017; G01S7/52023; G01S7/52033; G10; G10K; G10K11/00; G10K11/18; G10K11/26; G10K11/30; G10K11/34; G10K11/341; G10K11/346
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
218 words
An ultrasonic imaging system for analyzing the internal structure of a body by acoustic energy, comprising a transducer array (10) including a plurality of elongated piezoelectric transducers (12) successively arranged along a curved surface for emission of diverging beams of acoustic energy, an acoustic diverging lens (30) affixed to said curved surface and formed of a material having an acoustic impedance substantially equal to the acoustic impedance of said body and a lower sound velocity than the sound velocity of said body for increasing the angle of divergence of said emitted acoustic energy, said lens having different path-lengths in the direction of propagation of the acoustic energy emitted from different ones of said transducers, a source (48) for successively generating burst energy, and means (41-45) for selectively establishing a connection from said source to a subarray (#1-#16, #2-#17, .....) of said transducers to transmit a beam of acoustic energy therefrom and shifting the connection to the next subarray (#2-#17, #3-18, ....) by at least one transducer in response to the generation of subsequent acoustic energy to cause the emitted acoustic energy to be angulated in an arc scan format, characterized by means (46, 51-53; 60-63, 65, 69, 70; 80-84, 65) for compensating for differences in energy level resulting from the differences in the path-length of said acoustic lens.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
218 words
An ultrasonic imaging system for analyzing the internal structure of a body by acoustic energy, comprising a transducer array (10) including a plurality of elongated piezoelectric transducers (12) successively arranged along a curved surface for emission of diverging beams of acoustic energy, an acoustic diverging lens (30) affixed to said curved surface and formed of a material having an acoustic impedance substantially equal to the acoustic impedance of said body and a lower sound velocity than the sound velocity of said body for increasing the angle of divergence of said emitted acoustic energy, said lens having different path-lengths in the direction of propagation of the acoustic energy emitted from different ones of said transducers, a source (48) for successively generating burst energy, and means (41-45) for selectively establishing a connection from said source to a subarray (#1-#16, #2-#17, .....) of said transducers to transmit a beam of acoustic energy therefrom and shifting the connection to the next subarray (#2-#17, #3-18, ....) by at least one transducer in response to the generation of subsequent acoustic energy to cause the emitted acoustic energy to be angulated in an arc scan format, characterized by means (46, 51-53; 60-63, 65, 69, 70; 80-84, 65) for compensating for differences in energy level resulting from the differences in the path-length of said acoustic lens.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
57 words
An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said compensating means comprises means (44, 51-53) for generating a path-length compensating signal of which the magnitude varies as a function of the point of transmission of acoustic beam on said array, and means (46) for modulating the energy level according to said compensating signal.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
59 words
An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that said means for generating compensating signal comprises a memory (52) storing path-length compensating digital data, means (44, 51) for periodically reading the path-length compensating data out of said memory, and means (53) for converting said digital data to a corresponding analog signal for controlling said modulating means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
40 words
An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that said modulating means is arranged to modulate the amplitude of the burst energy generated by said source (48) during transmit or receive mode of the system.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
99 words
An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in claim 1, further characterized by means (69) for periodically generating a ramp voltage in response to the generation of said burst energy, and in that said compensating means comprises means (61-63) for generating a path-length compensating signal of which the magnitude varies as a function of the point of emission of the acoustic beams, means (70) for combining said periodic ramp voltage and said compensating signal, and means (65) for modulating the level of signals representing echos returning from the inside of said body according to the output of said combining means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
119 words
An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in claim 1, further characterized by means (80, 84) for periodically generating a ramp voltage in response to the burst energy, and in that said compensating means comprises means (81-82) for generating a path-length compensating signal of which the magnitude varies as a function of the point of emission of said acoustic beams, means (83) for delaying the time of generation of said ramp voltage with respect to the time of reception of echo returning from the inside of said body as a function of said compensating signal, and means (65) for modulating the amplitude of a signal representing said echo as a function of the instantaneous value of said delayed ramp voltage.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
103 words
An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that said means for generating path-length compensating signal comprises a memory (82) storing path-length compensating data, means (81) for reading the path-length compensating data out of the memory in response to the reception of an echo returning from the inside of the body, and in that said delaying means comprises a clock source (80) for generating clock pulses for triggering said ramp voltage generating means (84) and a variable delay circuit (83) responsive to the data read out of the memory (82) for introducing a variable delay time to said clock pulse.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
53 words
An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in claim 6 or 7, characterized in that said compensating means further comprises means (44, 51-53) for generating a second path-length compensating signal and means (46) for modulating the amplitude of the burst energy generated by said source (48) in response to said second path-length compensating signal.
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