US5456257A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Ultrasonic detection of contrast agents
Assignee: Advanced Technology Laboratories Inc
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Filing: 1994-11-23
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Granted: 1995-10-10
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Expires: 2014-11-23
Abstract
Abstract An ultrasonic diagnostic system is provided which detects the presence of coated microbubble contrast agents in the body of a patient by transmitting ultrasonic energy which causes the destruction of the coated microbubbles and detects the microbubble destruction through phase insensitive detection and differentiation of echoes received from two consecutive ultrasonic transmissions. The destruction of a microbubble can also be used as a point source of acoustic energy for aberration correction, whereby the timing of the beamformer is adjusted from an analysis of beamformer signals resulting from a detected microbubble destruction event.
Inventors
- 👤 Keith W. Johnson
- 👤 Jeffry E. Powers
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 00:39
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B8/00; A61B8/48; A61B8/481; G; G01; G01S; G01S7/00; G01S7/52; G01S7/52017; G01S7/52023; G01S7/52036; G01S7/52038; G01S7/52041; G01S7/52046; G01S7/52049
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
93 words
A method for detecting the presence of a coated microbubble contrast agent in the body of a patient through ultrasonic interrogation comprising the steps of: transmitting ultrasonic pulses into the body of a patient at an energy level sufficient to cause the destruction of coated microbubbles in the body; receiving the signals returned following each pulse transmission; detecting the signals received through phase insensitive detection; differentiating the detected signals received following two pulse transmissions on a spatial basis; and identifying signal differentiations which exceed a predetermined threshold as resulting from microbubble destruction events.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
93 words
A method for detecting the presence of a coated microbubble contrast agent in the body of a patient through ultrasonic interrogation comprising the steps of: transmitting ultrasonic pulses into the body of a patient at an energy level sufficient to cause the destruction of coated microbubbles in the body; receiving the signals returned following each pulse transmission; detecting the signals received through phase insensitive detection; differentiating the detected signals received following two pulse transmissions on a spatial basis; and identifying signal differentiations which exceed a predetermined threshold as resulting from microbubble destruction events.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the step of detecting comprises detecting the signals received through envelope detection.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method of claim 2, wherein the step of differentiating comprises subtracting the signals received following a later pulse transmission from the signals received following an earlier pulse transmission on a spatial basis, whereby the signals of each subtracted pair are received from the same location in the field being interrogated.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of: counting the number of identified microbubble destruction events; and displaying an image which depicts the number of events counted.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 4, wherein the step of displaying comprises the step of displaying an ultrasonic image of the interior of the body of the patient and depicting the number of events counted in correspondence with said ultrasonic image.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 5, wherein the step of displaying comprises the step of displaying an ultrasonic image of the interior of the body of the patient and depicting the number of events counted in color on said ultrasonic image.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of: displaying an ultrasonic image of the interior of the body of the patient; and displaying identified microbubble destruction events in correspondence with said ultrasonic image.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 7, wherein the step of displaying identified microbubble destruction events comprises displaying said events in said ultrasonic image in spatial correspondence therewith, and displaying said events for times longer than the actual time span of an event occurrence.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
62 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving comprises receiving the signals returned following each pulse transmission with the elements of a multielement transducer array and separately delaying the signal component received by each transducer element; and further comprising the step of checking the coincidence of said delayed signal components in response to the identification of a microbubble destruction event.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
113 words
An ultrasonic diagnostic system for detecting the presence of a coated microbubble contrast agent in the body of a patient through ultrasonic interrogation comprising: an ultrasonic transducer which transmits ultrasonic pulses into the body of a patient at an energy level sufficient to cause the destruction of coated microbubbles in the body, and which receives the acoustic signals returned following each pulse transmission and converts them to electrical echo signals; a phase insensitive detector for detecting said echo signals; a differentiator which differentiates on a spatial basis the detected echo signals resulting from two pulse transmissions; and means for identifying differentiated echo signals which exceed a threshold as resulting from microbubble destruction events.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
113 words
An ultrasonic diagnostic system for detecting the presence of a coated microbubble contrast agent in the body of a patient through ultrasonic interrogation comprising: an ultrasonic transducer which transmits ultrasonic pulses into the body of a patient at an energy level sufficient to cause the destruction of coated microbubbles in the body, and which receives the acoustic signals returned following each pulse transmission and converts them to electrical echo signals; a phase insensitive detector for detecting said echo signals; a differentiator which differentiates on a spatial basis the detected echo signals resulting from two pulse transmissions; and means for identifying differentiated echo signals which exceed a threshold as resulting from microbubble destruction events.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic system of claim 10, wherein said phase insensitive detector comprises an envelope detector.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
49 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic system of claim 10, wherein said differentiator comprises a subtractor which subtracts a sequence of echo signals following a later pulse transmission from a sequence of echo signals following an earlier pulse transmission in correspondence with the times of reception of echo signals of each sequence.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
29 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic system of claim 10, further comprising: an event counter for counting identified microbubble destruction events; and a display for displaying the count of said event counter.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
40 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic system of claim 13, wherein said display comprises an image display for concurrently displaying an ultrasonic image of the interior of the body of a patient and locations in said image corresponding to counted microbubble destruction events.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
73 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic system of claim 10, further comprising: an image display for concurrently displaying an ultrasonic image of the interior of the body of a patient and locations in said image corresponding to spatial locations of microbubble destruction events; and further comprising: means, coupled to said image display and responsive to the identification of a microbubble destruction event for displaying said event for a time greater than the duration of said event.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
79 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic system of claim 10, wherein said ultrasonic transducer comprises a multielement transducer; and further comprising: a beamformer, coupled to the elements of said transducer and to said detector, for controlling the timing of pulse transmission by said transducer elements and the timing of delays applied to said electrical echo signals; and an aberration correction subsystem, responsive to the identification of a microbubble destruction event, and coupled to said beamformer for adjusting the timing of said beamformer.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
138 words
An ultrasonic diagnostic system which utilizes a coated microbubble contrast agent for aberration correction comprising: an ultrasonic transducer array which transmits ultrasonic pulses into the body of a patient at an energy level sufficient to cause the destruction of coated microbubbles in the body, and which receives the acoustic signals returned following each pulse transmission and converts them to electrical echo signals; a beamformer, coupled to said ultrasonic transducer array, for controlling the timing of pulse transmission by said transducer array and the timing of delays applied to said electrical echo signals; and a detector, coupled to said beamformer and responsive to said electrical echo signals, for detecting microbubble destruction events; and a beamformer timing check subsystem, coupled to said beamformer, for checking the timing of said beamformer in response to the detection of a microbubble destruction event.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
138 words
An ultrasonic diagnostic system which utilizes a coated microbubble contrast agent for aberration correction comprising: an ultrasonic transducer array which transmits ultrasonic pulses into the body of a patient at an energy level sufficient to cause the destruction of coated microbubbles in the body, and which receives the acoustic signals returned following each pulse transmission and converts them to electrical echo signals; a beamformer, coupled to said ultrasonic transducer array, for controlling the timing of pulse transmission by said transducer array and the timing of delays applied to said electrical echo signals; and a detector, coupled to said beamformer and responsive to said electrical echo signals, for detecting microbubble destruction events; and a beamformer timing check subsystem, coupled to said beamformer, for checking the timing of said beamformer in response to the detection of a microbubble destruction event.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
63 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic system of claim 17, wherein said beamformer comprises a plurality of delay channels for applying adjustable delays to said electrical echo signals; and wherein said beamformer timing check subsystem includes means for adjusting said adjustable delays in response to the time coincidence of electrical echo signals of a microbubble destruction event which have been delayed by said beamformer delay channels.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1998-10-09 | 1999-04-10 | 1999-10-10 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2002-10-09 | 2003-04-10 | 2003-10-10 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2006-10-09 | 2007-04-10 | 2007-10-10 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |