Ultrasound imaging methods and ultrasound imaging systems

Abstract

An ultrasound imaging method and system are disclosed. The method includes: emitting ultrasound waves at at least three different emission angles toward a target tissue, wherein the emission frequencies of the ultrasound waves at at least two emission angles are different, and the emission frequencies of the ultrasound waves at at least two emission angles are the same; performing beamforming on the ultrasound echo signal corresponding to each emission angle at at least two different receiving angles; performing at least one coherent composite and at least one incoherent composite on the beamformed data to obtain composite data, wherein each coherent composite includes coherent composite of beamformed data with the same receiving angle and the same emission frequency but different emission angles; and the incoherent composite includes incoherent composite of at least one set of coherent composite data with beamformed data that has not undergone coherent composite; and generating an ultrasound image based on the composite data. This invention can balance the spatial resolution, penetration power, and temporal resolution of ultrasound images.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of ultrasound imaging technology, and more specifically to an ultrasound imaging method and an ultrasound imaging system. Background Technology

[0002] Ultrasound imaging involves emitting ultrasound waves from an ultrasound probe onto the object being examined or diagnosed, and then generating an ultrasound image based on the echo signal. Ultrasound imaging offers advantages such as real-time imaging, no radiation, wide applicability, and low cost, and is currently widely used in clinical medical diagnosis and routine physical examinations. The quality of ultrasound images is crucial for clinical diagnosis.

[0003] The source of ultrasound imaging is the emission of ultrasound waves, and one of the most important parameters of ultrasound is the emission frequency. Because human tissue absorbs and scatters ultrasound waves of different frequencies differently, different emission frequencies produce different effects on ultrasound images. Generally, higher frequencies result in better spatial and contrast resolution of the ultrasound image, but also stronger attenuation during propagation within human tissue, leading to poorer penetration of higher-frequency ultrasound waves. Conversely, lower frequencies result in better penetration, but worse spatial resolution. Simply put, frequency is positively correlated with the spatial resolution of an ultrasound image, but negatively correlated with its penetration, making it difficult to balance both spatial resolution and penetration. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The summary section introduces a series of simplified concepts, which will be further explained in detail in the detailed description section. The summary section of this invention is not intended to limit the key features and essential technical features of the claimed technical solution, nor is it intended to determine the scope of protection of the claimed technical solution.

[0005] One embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasound imaging method, the method comprising:

[0006] Ultrasonic waves are emitted toward the target tissue of the object being tested at at least three different emission angles, wherein the emission frequencies of the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles are different, and the emission frequencies of the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles are the same.

[0007] The echo of the ultrasonic wave at each emission angle is received to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each emission angle;

[0008] For each transmission angle, the ultrasonic echo signal is beamformed at at least two different reception angles to obtain beamformed data corresponding to different reception angles.

[0009] Based on the transmit angle, receive angle, and transmit frequency corresponding to the beamforming data, the beamforming data undergoes at least one coherent composite and at least one incoherent composite to obtain composite data. Each coherent composite includes coherently composited beamforming data with the same receive angle and transmit frequency but different transmit angles to obtain a set of coherent composite data corresponding to the same receive angle and transmit frequency. The incoherent composite includes incoherently composited at least one set of coherent composite data with the beamforming data that has not undergone coherent composite.

[0010] An ultrasound image is generated based on the composite data.

[0011] A second aspect of this invention provides an ultrasound imaging method, the method comprising:

[0012] Ultrasonic waves are emitted toward the target tissue of the object being tested at at least three different emission angles, wherein the emission frequencies of the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles are different, and the emission frequencies of the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles are the same.

[0013] The echo of the ultrasonic wave at each emission angle is received to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each emission angle;

[0014] For each transmission angle, the ultrasonic echo signal is beamformed at at least two different reception angles to obtain beamformed data corresponding to different reception angles.

[0015] Based on the transmit angle, receive angle, and transmit frequency corresponding to the beamforming data, the beamforming data is subjected to at least one coherent composite and at least one incoherent composite to obtain composite data. Each coherent composite includes coherently composited beamforming data with the same receive angle and the same transmit frequency but different transmit angles to obtain a set of coherent composite data corresponding to the same receive angle and the same transmit frequency. The incoherent composite includes incoherently composited at least two sets of coherent composite data.

[0016] An ultrasound image is generated based on the composite data.

[0017] A third aspect of this invention provides an ultrasound imaging method, the method comprising:

[0018] Ultrasonic waves are emitted toward the target tissue of the object being tested at at least two different emission angles, wherein the emission frequencies of the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles are different;

[0019] The echo of the ultrasonic wave at each emission angle is received to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each emission angle;

[0020] For each transmission angle, the ultrasonic echo signal is beamformed at at least two different reception angles to obtain beamformed data corresponding to different reception angles.

[0021] Based on the transmit angle, receive angle, and transmit frequency corresponding to the beamforming data, the beamforming data is subjected to at least one coherent composite and at least one incoherent composite to obtain composite data. Each coherent composite includes coherently composited beamforming data with the same transmit angle and the same transmit frequency but different receive angles to obtain a set of coherent composite data corresponding to the same transmit angle and the same transmit frequency. The incoherent composite includes incoherently composited at least two sets of coherent composite data.

[0022] An ultrasound image is generated based on the composite data.

[0023] A fourth aspect of this invention provides an ultrasound imaging method, the method comprising:

[0024] Ultrasonic waves are emitted toward the target tissue of the object being tested at at least two different emission angles, wherein the emission frequencies of the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles are different;

[0025] The echo of the ultrasonic wave at each emission angle is received to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each emission angle;

[0026] For each transmission angle, the ultrasonic echo signal is beamformed at at least two different reception angles to obtain beamformed data corresponding to different reception angles.

[0027] Based on the transmission angle, reception angle, and transmission frequency corresponding to the beamforming data, the beamforming data undergoes at least one coherent composite and at least one incoherent composite to obtain composite data. Each coherent composite includes coherently composited beamforming data with the same transmission angle and frequency but different reception angles to obtain a set of coherent composite data corresponding to the same transmission angle and frequency. The incoherent composite includes incoherently composited at least one set of coherent composite data with the beamforming data that has not undergone coherent composite.

[0028] An ultrasound image is generated based on the composite data.

[0029] A fifth aspect of the present invention provides an ultrasound imaging system, comprising:

[0030] Ultrasonic probe;

[0031] A transmitting circuit is used to excite the ultrasound probe to emit ultrasound waves toward the target tissue.

[0032] A receiving circuit is used to control the ultrasonic probe to receive the ultrasonic echo signal of the ultrasonic wave;

[0033] A processor for executing the ultrasound imaging method described above to generate ultrasound images;

[0034] A display for showing the ultrasound images.

[0035] The ultrasonic imaging method and system of this invention employ different transmission frequencies when emitting ultrasonic waves at different transmission angles. For each transmission angle, beamforming is performed using at least two different reception angles. Then, coherent and incoherent composite data are combined to obtain composite data, and an ultrasonic image is generated based on the composite data. Specifically, coherent composite is performed on beamforming data with the same transmission frequency, same reception angle, but different transmission angles, or on beamforming data with the same transmission frequency, same transmission angle, but different reception angles. Therefore, it is not necessary to actually transmit at all transmission frequencies at every transmission angle to include information from multiple frequencies in the composite image, ensuring spatial resolution, penetration, and temporal resolution of the composite image without reducing the frame rate. Both coherent and incoherent composite processes are performed during the composite process, integrating the phase and amplitude information of the data. Coherent composite is performed between data with the same transmission angle or the same reception angle and the same transmission frequency, reducing the complexity of the composite algorithm. Attached Figure Description

[0036] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the more detailed description of the embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings are provided to further illustrate the embodiments of the invention and form part of the specification. They are used together with the embodiments of the invention to explain the invention and do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the drawings, the same reference numerals generally represent the same parts or steps.

[0037] Figure 1 A structural block diagram of an ultrasound imaging system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0038] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of frequency recombination is shown;

[0039] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a spatial composite is shown;

[0040] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of frequency and spatial composite is shown;

[0041] Figure 5 A schematic flowchart of an ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0042] Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating one transmission angle corresponding to multiple reception angles according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0043] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of coherent and incoherent recombination according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0044] Figure 8 A schematic diagram illustrating coherent and incoherent recombination according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0045] Figure 9 A schematic diagram illustrating coherent and incoherent recombination according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0046] Figure 10 A schematic diagram showing the overlapping region between the transmission angle and the reception angle according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 11 A schematic diagram of an ultrasound imaging method according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0048] Figure 12 A schematic diagram of an ultrasound imaging method according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0049] Figure 13 A schematic diagram of an ultrasound imaging method according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0050] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention more apparent, exemplary embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are merely a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein. Based on the embodiments of the present invention described herein, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without inventive effort should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0051] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention can be practiced without one or more of these details. In other instances, certain technical features well-known in the art have not been described in order to avoid obscuring the invention.

[0052] It should be understood that the invention can be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, providing these embodiments will make the disclosure thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

[0053] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the invention. When used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms “comprising” and / or “including,” when used in this specification, identify the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups. When used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of the associated listed items.

[0054] To fully understand this invention, a detailed structure will be presented in the following description to illustrate the technical solution proposed by this invention. Optional embodiments of the invention are described in detail below; however, in addition to these detailed descriptions, the invention may have other embodiments.

[0055] Below, first refer to Figure 1 An ultrasound imaging system according to an embodiment of the present invention is described. Figure 1 A schematic structural block diagram of an ultrasound imaging system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0056] like Figure 1 As shown, the ultrasound imaging system 100 includes an ultrasound probe 110, a transmitting circuit 112, a receiving circuit 114, a processor 116, and a display 118. Further, the ultrasound imaging system may also include a transmit / receive selection switch 120 and a beamforming module 122. The transmitting circuit 112 and the receiving circuit 114 can be connected to the ultrasound probe 110 via the transmit / receive selection switch 120.

[0057] The ultrasonic probe 110 includes multiple transducer elements. These elements can be arranged in a row to form a linear array, or in a two-dimensional matrix to form a planar array. They can also form a convex array. The transducer elements are used to emit ultrasonic waves based on excitation electrical signals, or to convert received ultrasonic waves into electrical signals. Therefore, each transducer element can be used to achieve the mutual conversion between electrical pulse signals and ultrasonic waves, thereby enabling the emission of ultrasonic waves to the target area of ​​the object being measured, and also to receive ultrasonic wave echoes reflected back from the tissue.

[0058] During ultrasound imaging, the transducer elements used to emit and receive ultrasound waves can be controlled via transmission and reception sequences. Alternatively, the transducer elements can be time-slotted to emit or receive echoes. Transducer elements involved in ultrasound emission can be simultaneously excited by electrical signals, thus emitting ultrasound waves concurrently; alternatively, transducer elements involved in ultrasound beam emission can be excited by several electrical signals at specific time intervals, thus continuously emitting ultrasound waves at specific time intervals.

[0059] During ultrasound imaging, the transmitting circuit 112 generates a transmission sequence under the control of the processor 116. This transmission sequence controls some or all of the multiple transducer elements to transmit ultrasound waves towards the target tissue. The transmission sequence parameters include the number and position of the transducer elements and the ultrasound beam transmission parameters, such as amplitude, frequency, number of transmissions, transmission interval, transmission angle, waveform, and focusing position. In some cases, the transmitting circuit 112 also performs phase delay on the transmitted beam, allowing different transducer elements to transmit ultrasound waves at different times, so that each transmitted ultrasound beam can be focused within a predetermined region of interest. The transmission sequence parameters may differ for different imaging modes. After the ultrasound echo signal is received by the receiving circuit 114 and processed by subsequent modules and corresponding algorithms, ultrasound images for different imaging modes can be generated.

[0060] The receiving circuit 114 may include one or more amplifiers, analog-to-digital converters, etc. The amplifiers amplify the received ultrasonic echo signal after appropriate gain compensation, and the analog-to-digital converter samples the analog echo signal at predetermined time intervals, converting it into a digital signal. The digitized echo signal still retains amplitude, frequency, and phase information. The receiving circuit 114 sends the ultrasonic echo signal to the beamforming module 122 for processing.

[0061] The beamforming module 122 performs focusing delay, weighting, and channel summation on the ultrasonic echo signal before sending it to the processor 116. The processor 116 performs signal detection, signal enhancement, data conversion, and logarithmic compression on the ultrasonic echo signal to form an ultrasonic image. The ultrasonic image obtained by the processor 116 can be displayed on the display 118 or stored in the memory 124.

[0062] Optionally, the processor 116 can be implemented as software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof, and can use one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more general-purpose integrated circuits, one or more microprocessors, one or more programmable logic devices, or any combination of the foregoing circuits and / or devices, or other suitable circuits or devices. Furthermore, the processor 116 can control other components in the ultrasound imaging system 100 to perform the corresponding steps of the methods in the various embodiments of this specification.

[0063] The display 118 is connected to the processor 116. The display 118 can be a touch screen, an LCD screen, etc.; or, the display 118 can be an independent display such as an LCD screen or a television, separate from the ultrasound imaging system 100; or, the display 118 can be the screen of an electronic device such as a smartphone or tablet, etc. The number of displays 118 can be one or more.

[0064] The display 118 can display the ultrasound images obtained by the processor 116. Furthermore, while displaying the ultrasound images, the display 118 can also provide a graphical user interface for human-machine interaction. One or more controlled objects can be set on the graphical interface, allowing the user to input operation commands using a human-machine interaction device to control these controlled objects and perform corresponding control operations. For example, icons can be displayed on the graphical interface, and the human-machine interaction device can be used to operate these icons to perform specific functions, such as drawing a region of interest bounding box on the ultrasound image.

[0065] Optionally, the ultrasound imaging system 100 may also include other human-machine interface devices besides the display 118, which are connected to the processor 116. For example, the processor 116 may be connected to the human-machine interface device via an external input / output port, which may be a wireless communication module, a wired communication module, or a combination of both. The external input / output port may also be based on USB, bus protocols such as CAN, and / or wired network protocols.

[0066] The human-computer interaction device may include an input device for detecting user input information. This input information may be, for example, control commands for the timing of ultrasound transmission / reception, operational input commands for drawing points, lines, or boxes on an ultrasound image, or other types of commands. The input device may include one or a combination of several of the following: a keyboard, mouse, scroll wheel, trackball, mobile input device (e.g., a mobile device with a touchscreen, a mobile phone, etc.), a multi-function knob, etc. The human-computer interaction device may also include an output device such as a printer.

[0067] The ultrasound imaging system 100 may also include a memory 124 for storing instructions executed by the processor, storing received ultrasound echoes, storing ultrasound images, etc. The memory may be a flash memory card, solid-state memory, hard disk, etc. It may be volatile and / or non-volatile memory, removable memory and / or non-removable memory, etc.

[0068] It should be understood that Figure 1 The components included in the ultrasound imaging system 100 shown are merely illustrative and may include more or fewer components. This invention is not limited thereto.

[0069] Since frequency is positively correlated with the spatial resolution of ultrasound images but negatively correlated with the penetrating power of ultrasound, one ultrasound imaging method involves emitting low-frequency and high-frequency ultrasound waves separately, and then incoherently combining the images obtained at the two frequencies—a process known as frequency combining. Figure 2 As shown, this composite imaging method can balance both spatial resolution and penetration, thus improving image quality. However, because it requires emitting ultrasound waves at two different frequencies, the number of transmissions doubles, reducing the frame rate and temporal resolution of the ultrasound images, which affects the real-time imaging of moving tissues such as the heart and blood flow.

[0070] Spatial recombination involves emitting sound waves at different angles to form image data from different angles, and then performing incoherent recombination, such as... Figure 3 As shown. This composite imaging technique can reduce the variance of speckle noise in ultrasound imaging and lower noise levels. Combining frequency composite and spatial composite—that is, emitting low-frequency and high-frequency ultrasound waves at each emission angle—can improve the quality of ultrasound images, but it will significantly reduce the temporal resolution of the ultrasound images, resulting in a poorer sense of dynamics. In practical applications, users need to make trade-offs based on different scenarios, choosing between the spatial resolution and penetration of ultrasound images, or the temporal resolution of ultrasound images; often, both cannot be simultaneously achieved.

[0071] To simultaneously apply frequency and spatial composite, a compromise is to emit ultrasonic waves at multiple emission angles, with different emission frequencies applied at different angles, such as... Figure 4 As shown. In Figure 4 In the example, ultrasonic waves are emitted at three emission angles and three frequencies. Then, the views from different emission angles and frequencies are incoherently composited. The resulting composite image integrates angular and frequency information, thus achieving a balance between temporal and spatial resolution to some extent. However... Figure 4The three views in the image are relatively independent, and each view contains different angular and frequency information. This not only requires an extremely complex composite algorithm when composited, but also fails to achieve the image effect of a view that contains two frequencies for each angle.

[0072] To address this, this invention presents a novel frequency-space composite imaging method. When emitting ultrasonic waves at different transmission angles, different transmission frequencies are used. For each transmission angle, beamforming is performed using at least two different reception angles. Then, coherent and incoherent composite data are combined to obtain composite data, and an ultrasonic image is generated based on the composite data. Specifically, coherent composite is performed on beamforming data with the same transmission frequency and reception angle but different transmission angles, or on beamforming data with the same transmission frequency and reception angle but different reception angles. Therefore, it is not necessary to actually transmit at all transmission frequencies at every transmission angle to include information from multiple frequencies in the composite image. This ensures that the spatial resolution, penetration, and temporal resolution of the composite image are maintained without reducing the frame rate. The composite process involves both coherent and incoherent composite, integrating the phase and amplitude information of the data. Coherent composite is performed between data with the same transmission angle or reception angle and the same transmission frequency, reducing the complexity of the composite algorithm.

[0073] Below, first refer to Figure 5 An ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of the present invention is described. Figure 5 This is a schematic flowchart of an ultrasound imaging method 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 As shown, an embodiment of the ultrasound imaging method 500 of the present invention includes the following steps:

[0074] In step S510, ultrasonic waves are emitted toward the target tissue of the object being tested at at least three different emission angles, wherein the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles have different emission frequencies, and the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles have the same emission frequency.

[0075] In step S520, the echo of the ultrasonic wave at each emission angle is received to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each emission angle;

[0076] In step S530, for each transmission angle, the ultrasonic echo signal is beamformed at at least two different receiving angles to obtain beamformed data corresponding to different receiving angles.

[0077] In step S540, based on the transmission angle, reception angle, and transmission frequency corresponding to the beamforming data, at least one coherent composite and at least one incoherent composite are performed on the beamforming data to obtain composite data. Each coherent composite includes coherently composited beamforming data with the same reception angle and the same transmission frequency but different transmission angles to obtain a set of coherent composite data corresponding to the same reception angle and the same transmission frequency. The incoherent composite includes incoherently composited at least one set of coherent composite data with the beamforming data that has not undergone coherent composite.

[0078] In step S550, an ultrasound image is generated based on the composite data.

[0079] This invention relates to ultrasound frequency composite technology and spatial composite technology. Frequency composite technology incorporates information from different frequencies into the ultrasound image. Low-frequency information provides higher penetration, while high-frequency information provides higher spatial resolution, thus improving image quality by balancing spatial resolution and penetration. Spatial composite technology reduces speckle noise in ultrasound imaging, decreasing the variance of speckle formation and increasing the visibility of scatterer edges or tissue boundaries, thereby improving image quality. Furthermore, since scanning at different emission angles can detect interfaces in different directions, when the tissue interface is curved, different parts of the curved surface are imaged at different deflection angles. Therefore, spatial composite technology improves the continuity of the curved surface.

[0080] The ultrasound imaging method of this invention can be used for grayscale imaging, as well as Doppler imaging mode and other imaging modes; spatially, it can be applied to conventional two-dimensional ultrasound imaging, as well as three-dimensional or four-dimensional ultrasound imaging.

[0081] Specifically, in step S510, the ultrasonic probe is controlled to sequentially emit ultrasonic waves at different emission angles. At least two emission angles have different emission frequencies, and at least two emission angles have the same emission frequency. Using different emission frequencies at at least two emission angles allows for the integration of different frequency information during spatial composite, thus achieving frequency composite. Using the same emission frequency at at least two emission angles ensures that the same receiving angle corresponds to the same emission frequency, facilitating coherent composite of beamforming data from the same receiving angle but different emission angles and the same emission frequency.

[0082] For example, in Figure 6In the example, the ultrasonic wave emission angles include a first emission angle, a second emission angle, and a third emission angle, which correspond to a first emission frequency, a second emission frequency, and a third emission frequency, respectively; wherein, the emission frequencies of the first emission angle and the second emission angle are different, the emission frequencies of the second emission angle and the third emission angle are different, and the emission frequencies of the first emission angle and the third emission angle are the same.

[0083] As for different transmission frequencies, they can refer to different fundamental frequencies, different harmonic frequencies, or a combination of fundamental and harmonic frequencies; the receiver corresponding to each transmission frequency is the receiver of that frequency.

[0084] The ultrasonic probe emitting ultrasound waves can be any type of probe, such as a linear array probe, a convex array probe, a planar array probe, or a phased array probe. The ultrasound waves emitted by the probe can be focused or unfocused. Different emission angles are achieved through different emission delays, while the relative position of the ultrasonic probe and the tissue remains unchanged. In some embodiments, the emission angle of the ultrasound waves includes a vertical emission angle perpendicular to the plane in which the array element emitting the ultrasound waves is located, and at least two deflection emission angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the vertical emission angle. The emission frequencies of the deflection emission angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the same vertical emission angle are the same, while the emission frequencies of the vertical emission angle and the deflection emission angle are different.

[0085] For example, if the emitted ultrasonic wave is a focused ultrasonic wave, the transducer array of the ultrasonic probe is controlled to focus the ultrasonic beam at the target position, thereby achieving better image resolution and contrast at the target position. The process of guiding the sound fields of different transducer elements to superimpose at the target position is the emission focusing process. Specifically, the emission pulse generated by the emission circuit excites each transducer element according to a certain delay time, causing transducer elements farther from the focusing position to emit earlier with a smaller delay time; transducers closer to the focusing position emit later with a longer delay time. This allows the ultrasonic waves emitted by all transducer elements to arrive at the target position simultaneously, forming a focus at the target position. For focused ultrasonic waves, different emission angles correspond to different focusing positions.

[0086] Unfocused ultrasound mainly includes plane waves and scattered waves. For plane waves, the transducer elements in the ultrasound probe can be synchronously excited to generate ultrasound waves parallel to the transducer array plane; alternatively, the transducer elements can be sequentially excited based on a delay time calculated from the deflection angle to emit ultrasound waves with a certain deflection angle. Diverging waves involve one or more virtual focal points behind the ultrasound probe. The emitted waveform is centered on these virtual focal points, and by setting a transmission delay, an arc-shaped wavefront is obtained. The diverging wave gradually diverges with increasing depth, thus achieving a larger field of view with a smaller aperture.

[0087] In step S520, the echo of ultrasound waves at each transmission angle is received to obtain the ultrasound echo signal corresponding to each transmission angle. For example, after each transmission, the receiving circuit controls the transducer array element in the ultrasound probe to receive the echo of the ultrasound waves transmitted in the previous step from each receiving point in the target area, and converts it into an electrical signal to obtain the ultrasound echo signal. Since the distance from different receiving points in the tissue to the same transducer array element is different, and the distance from the same receiving point to different transducer array elements is also different, the transducer array element will receive ultrasound echo signals with varying signal intensity over a period of time. After being converted into an electrical signal, this becomes a segment of analog signal with continuously varying amplitude. This analog signal is called a channel signal corresponding to this transmission.

[0088] For example, after the transducer array element converts the received ultrasonic waves into electrical signals, it can further process these signals through gain amplification, filtering, and analog-to-digital conversion before sending them to the beamforming module for beamforming. Since the intensity of ultrasonic waves decreases with increasing propagation distance as they propagate through tissue, gain amplification of the ultrasonic echo signal is necessary. This involves controlling the gain of the amplifier to amplify ultrasonic echo signals at greater distances and those at shorter distances, compensating for attenuation at different depths. Simultaneously, noise in the ultrasonic echo signal is also amplified. Because noise does not exhibit the attenuation characteristics of ultrasonic signals, it increases with distance after gain amplification. Therefore, filtering of the amplified ultrasonic echo signal is also required. Analog-to-digital conversion refers to converting analog signals into digital signals for subsequent digital signal processing.

[0089] In step S530, for each transmission angle corresponding to the ultrasonic echo signal, beamforming is performed at at least two different receiving angles to obtain beamformed data corresponding to different receiving angles. Beamforming refers to processing the signals of different channels in the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each transmission angle by applying appropriate delays and weighted summations, which is a transformation process from channel domain data to receiving imaging grid points. Since the distance from the same receiving point in the tissue to different transducer elements is different, the channel data of the same receiving point output by different transducer elements have delay differences. The purpose of delay processing is to align the phases of the signals of different channels. Then, the data of different channels at the same receiving point are weighted and summed to obtain the beamformed ultrasonic echo signal.

[0090] In beamforming, the angle formed by the line connecting the receiving grid point and the center point of the receiving aperture used for beamforming, and the normal line, is called the receiving angle. Using different receiving angles for beamforming means calculating the delay based on different receiving angles in each beamforming process to obtain beamforming data corresponding to different receiving angles. Using different receiving angles for beamforming can achieve an effect similar to multiple deflection transmissions through algorithms.

[0091] In some embodiments, the receiving angle includes a vertical receiving angle parallel to the vertical transmission angle, and at least two deflection receiving angles parallel to at least two deflection transmission angles, respectively. When the receiving angle or transmission angle is symmetrical about the vertical transmission angle, the resulting ultrasonic echo signal has higher coherence and better coherent recombination. Furthermore, when the number of transmission angles and receiving angles is the same, subsequent data processing is easier.

[0092] In conventional ultrasound imaging, one transmission angle corresponds to only one receiving angle. However, in this embodiment of the invention, one transmission angle can correspond to not only one receiving angle, but two or more receiving angles. For example, continuing to refer to... Figure 6 When transmitting at the first, second, and third transmission angles, the receiving angles all include the first, second, and third receiving angles. That is, although the transmission is performed three times at different transmission angles, a total of nine beamforming processes are conducted, resulting in nine different sets of beamforming data.

[0093] exist Figure 6 In the example, the second transmission angle is a vertical transmission angle, and the first and third transmission angles are deflection transmission angles that are symmetrical to the first transmission angle. The second receiving angle is a vertical receiving angle, and the first and third receiving angles are parallel to the first and third transmission angles, respectively. This ensures that each transmission angle has a parallel receiving angle and at least one deflection receiving angle, thus ensuring imaging quality.

[0094] The number of transmission and reception angles in this embodiment of the invention can be set according to actual needs. For example, when the frame rate requirement for ultrasound images is low, more transmission or reception angles can be used to improve the quality of ultrasound images; when the frame rate requirement for ultrasound images is high, the number of transmission or reception angles can be appropriately reduced to improve the frame rate.

[0095] Generally, the transmission angle and the reception angle are the same. If the transmission angle and the reception angle differ significantly, the overlap area between the transmission beam and the reception beam will be relatively small, and the sound wave energy will not be concentrated. Figure 10 As shown. In this case, selective reception is possible, ensuring that the angle between the line containing each transmission angle and the corresponding line containing the reception angle does not exceed the maximum angle between the normal direction of the transmitting ultrasonic wave element and the transmission angle. For example, in... Figure 6 In the example, the first transmit angle can be beamformed using only the first and second receive angles, and the third receive angle can be beamformed using only the second and third receive angles to improve the signal-to-noise ratio.

[0096] For example, in Figure 9 In the example, five transmission angles and three transmission frequencies are used. The first transmission angle differs significantly from the fourth and fifth receiving angles, resulting in a small overlap between the transmitted and received beams and a relatively small overall composite effect. In this case, it's advisable to apply only the first, second, and third receiving angles to the first transmission angle, excluding the fourth and fifth receiving angles; similarly, the fifth transmission angle should only apply the third, fourth, and fifth receiving angles, excluding the first and second receiving angles. This eliminates some less effective receiving angles, reducing the number of views obtained, but decreasing the data volume, computational load, and complexity of the ultrasound imaging system.

[0097] After executing step S530, multiple sets of beamforming data are obtained. Each set of beamforming data corresponds to a transmission angle, a transmission frequency, and a receiving angle, and each set of beamforming data can form a view. Since the signal obtained after beamforming is a modulated signal in both amplitude and phase, envelope detection and logarithmic compression are needed to further obtain the amplitude information of the echo for imaging. The purpose of envelope detection is to extract amplitude information from the radio frequency signal. For example, the Hilbert transform method can be used for envelope detection. The original signal is transformed by Hilbert to obtain an orthogonal signal of the original signal. A complex analytic signal is constructed using the original signal as the real part and the orthogonal signal obtained by Hilbert transform as the imaginary part. The modulus of this signal is the envelope of the original signal. After envelope detection, the ultrasonic echo signal is obtained as the amplitude envelope of the ultrasonic echo signal. The values ​​on this envelope cannot be directly used for imaging. The original value range of the envelope needs to be mapped to the imaging range of the ultrasonic imaging system, i.e., logarithmic compression. After envelope detection and logarithmic compression, the real signal is transformed into a complex signal.

[0098] In step S540, coherent and incoherent composites are performed on the at least two sets of beamforming data. If the beamforming data is composited before envelope detection, the beamforming data contains phase information, and the composite process utilizes this phase information; this type of composite is called coherent composite. If the beamforming data is composited after envelope detection, the composite data does not contain phase information, and the composite process utilizes the amplitude information; this type of composite is called incoherent composite. This embodiment of the invention performs both coherent and incoherent composites, utilizing amplitude and phase information from different angles to improve image quality. The composite data obtained after coherent and incoherent composites contains information from at least two frequencies, thus balancing the penetration and spatial resolution of the ultrasound image.

[0099] Coherent composite needs to be performed between beamforming data of the same frequency, and the beamforming data undergoing coherent composite should have the same transmission angle or the same reception angle to achieve phase alignment and reduce the difficulty of the composite algorithm. In the ultrasound imaging method 500 of this embodiment, by coherently composite beamforming data with the same reception angle, the same transmission frequency, and different transmission angles, sound field information from different transmission angles is coherently composited at the same reception angle, improving the image signal-to-noise ratio and spatial resolution. Coherent composite can also reduce the influence of multiple reflections from strong echo boundaries, which is beneficial for noise reduction in lumens such as blood vessels. By performing incoherent composite of coherent composite data from different reception angles, speckle noise is suppressed, reducing the noise of the ultrasound image, further improving image quality, and combining information from different frequencies. Furthermore, coherent composite of data at the same reception angle can be performed according to the receiving aperture, reducing the complexity of data processing.

[0100] Since at least two of the at least three different transmission angles have different transmission frequencies, and at least two of the transmission angles have the same transmission frequency, therefore, among the different transmission angles corresponding to the same receiving angle, at least two transmission angles can correspond to the same transmission frequency. For example, in Figure 6 In the example, among the first transmission angle, second transmission angle, and third transmission angle corresponding to the first receiving angle, the first transmission angle and the third transmission angle both correspond to the first transmission frequency. Therefore, as... Figure 7 As shown, the first receiving angle A can be... R 1. First launch angle A T The beamforming data of the first transmission frequency F1 and the first receiving angle A R 1. Third launch angle A T 3. Coherently combine the beamforming data at the first transmission frequency F1 with the beamforming data at the second receiving angle A to obtain the first coherent composite data; R 2. First launch angle A T The beamforming data of the first transmission frequency F1 and the first receiving angle A R 2. Third launch angle A T 3. Coherently combine the beamforming data from the first transmission frequency F1 with the beamforming data from the third receiving angle A to obtain the second coherent composite data; R 3. First launch angle A T 1 and the beamforming data of the first transmission frequency F1 and the third receiving angle A R 3. Third launch angle A T 3. The beamforming data at the first transmission frequency F1 is coherently combined to obtain the third coherent composite data, which is then combined with the beamforming data that has not undergone coherent combining, i.e., the first receiving angle A. R 1. Second launch angle A T 2. Beamforming data at the second transmission frequency F2, and the second receiving angle A R 1. Second launch angle A T 2. Beamforming data at the second transmission frequency F2, and the second receiving angle A R 1. Second launch angle A T 2. The beamforming data at the second transmission frequency F2 are incoherently combined to obtain the final composite data, and an ultrasound image is generated based on the composite data.

[0101] Figure 7In the process of incoherent composite data processing, the coherent composite data corresponding to each receiving angle is first incoherently composited with the beamforming data that has not undergone coherent composite processing at that receiving angle. This yields incoherent composite data that integrates different frequency information for each receiving angle. Then, the incoherent composite data corresponding to different receiving angles is incoherently composited again to obtain composite data that integrates different spatial and frequency information. For example, the first coherent composite data is first combined with the first receiving angle A. R 1. Second launch angle A T 2. The beamforming data at the second transmission frequency F2 are incoherently combined to obtain the first incoherent composite data corresponding to the first receiving angle. The first incoherent composite data contains information about the first transmission frequency F1 and the second transmission frequency F2. Then, the first incoherent composite data is incoherently combined with the second incoherent composite data corresponding to the second receiving angle and the third incoherent composite data corresponding to the third receiving angle. The above composite strategy uses coherent and incoherent composites of data from different transmission angles and transmission frequencies at each receiving angle to obtain view data containing information from all transmission frequencies at each receiving angle. This eliminates the need to actually transmit at multiple transmission frequencies at each transmission angle, further improving image quality without reducing the frame rate.

[0102] Alternatively, incoherent compositing can be performed in one step: first, obtain the coherent compositing data corresponding to each receiving angle, and then perform incoherent compositing on the coherent compositing data from multiple receiving angles and the beamforming data from multiple receiving angles that have not undergone coherent compositing. For example... Figure 8 As shown, the first coherent composite data, the second coherent composite data, the third coherent composite data, and the second emission angle A are combined. T 2. Second transmission frequency F2 and first receiving angle A R 1. Corresponding beamforming data, second transmission angle A T 2 and second transmission frequency F2 and second receiving angle A R 2 Corresponding beamforming data, second transmission angle A T 2. Second transmission frequency F2 and third receiving angle A R The beamforming data corresponding to 3 can also be incoherently combined to obtain composite data containing information about various angles and frequencies.

[0103] Figure 7 and Figure 8An embodiment with three transmission angles, three reception angles, and two transmission frequencies is shown. In practical applications, more transmission angles, frequencies, and reception angles may be used. At some reception angles, coherent recombination may be omitted, and only incoherent recombination may be performed; that is, coherent recombination can occur at some or all reception angles. At some reception angles, coherent recombination may also occur more than once.

[0104] For example, see Figure 9 The launch angle includes the first launch angle A. T 1. Second launch angle A T 2. Third launch angle A T 3. Fourth launch angle A T 4 and the fifth launch angle A T 5. Among them, the third launch angle A T 3 represents the vertical launch angle, and the first launch angle is A. T 1 and the fifth launch angle A T 5 is based on the third launch angle A T 3. Symmetrical deflection emission angles, second emission angle A T 2 and the fourth launch angle A T 4 is based on the third launch angle A T 3. Symmetrical deflection emission angles. First emission angle A T 1 and the fifth launch angle A T The transmission frequency corresponding to 5 is the first transmission frequency F1, and the second transmission angle is A. T 2 and the fourth launch angle A T The corresponding transmission frequency for 4 is the second transmission frequency F2, and the third transmission angle is A. T The transmission frequency corresponding to 3 is the third transmission frequency F3.

[0105] To prevent the deviation between the transmission angle and the reception angle from being too large, the first transmission angle A T The receiving angle corresponding to 1 is the first receiving angle A. R 1. Second receiving angle A R 2 and the third receiving angle A R 3; Second launch angle A T The receiving angle corresponding to 2 is the first receiving angle A. R 1. Second receiving angle A R 2. Third receiving angle A R 3 and fourth receiving angle A R 4; Third launch angle A T The receiving angle corresponding to 3 is the first receiving angle A. R 1. Second receiving angle A R 2. Third receiving angle A R 3. Fourth receiving angle AR 4 and the fifth receiving angle A R 5; Fourth launch angle A T The receiving angle corresponding to 4 is the second receiving angle A. R 2. Third receiving angle A R 3. Fourth receiving angle A R 4 and the fifth receiving angle A R 5; Fifth launch angle A T The receiving angle corresponding to 5 is the second receiving angle A. R 2. Third receiving angle A R 3. Fourth receiving angle A R 4 and the fifth receiving angle A R 5. Among them, the third receiving angle A R 3 represents the vertical receiving angle, and the first receiving angle is A. R 1 and the fifth receiving angle A R 5 are respectively related to the first launch angle A T 1 and the fifth launch angle A T 5. Parallel, second receiving angle A R 2 and the fourth receiving angle A R 4 respectively with the second launch angle A T 2 and the fourth launch angle A T 4. Parallel.

[0106] Based on the above transmission and reception strategies, when combining the obtained beamforming data, the first reception angle A R 1 and the fifth receiving angle A R Since there is no beamforming data with the same transmission frequency at position 5, only incoherent combining is performed. Second receiving angle A R Coherent recombination at angle 2 includes the second emission angle A. T 2. Second transmission frequency F2 and second receiving angle A R The corresponding beamforming data 2 is related to the fourth transmit angle AT4, the second transmit frequency F2, and the second receive angle A. R The beamforming data corresponding to point 2 is coherently combined to obtain the fourth coherent composite data. Third receiving angle A R Coherent recombination at angle 3 includes the first emission angle A T 1. First transmission frequency F1 and third receiving angle A R The beamforming data corresponding to 3 and the fifth transmission angle A T 5. First transmission frequency F1 and third receiving angle A R The beamforming data corresponding to 3 is coherently combined to obtain the fifth coherent composite data, and the data at the second transmission angle A is also coherently combined. T 2. Second transmission frequency F2 and third receiving angle A RThe beamforming data corresponding to 3 and the fourth transmission angle A T 4. Second transmission frequency F2 and third receiving angle A R The beamforming data corresponding to point 3 is coherently combined to obtain the sixth coherent composite data. Fourth receiving angle A R Coherent recombination at angle 4 includes the second emission angle A. T 2. Second transmission frequency F2 and fourth receiving angle A R The beamforming data corresponding to 4 and the fourth transmission angle A T 4. Second transmission frequency F2 and fourth receiving angle A R The beamforming data corresponding to 4 are coherently composited to obtain the seventh coherent composite data. Finally, the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh coherent composite data, as well as the beamforming data that has not undergone coherent composited processing, are incoherently composited to obtain the final composite data, which is used to form an ultrasound image.

[0107] When performing coherent or incoherent composite data, different weights need to be assigned to different beamforming data, resulting in different imaging effects. In one embodiment, coherent or incoherent composite can be performed based on preset weighting coefficients. These preset weighting coefficients can be calculated based on the geometric positional relationship between the transmitted and received signals from the ultrasound probe. Alternatively, when performing spatial composite, weighting coefficients can be calculated according to set algorithm rules or adaptively for coherent or incoherent composite. Adaptive weighting coefficients are calculated based on the characteristics of the ultrasound echo signal itself, and dynamic weighting based on adaptive weighting coefficients can effectively improve image quality. For example, for coherent composite data, it may be necessary to calculate the coherence between different beamforming data. Calculation methods include coherence factor analysis, eigenvalue analysis, etc., which can identify data with strong coherence and data or noise with weak coherence. Data with strong coherence can be assigned greater weight. For incoherent composite data, composite methods include average value composite, minimum value composite, maximum value composite, adaptive calculation, etc.

[0108] Next, in step S550, an ultrasound image is generated based on the composite data. Specifically, image processing is performed on the composite data to obtain displayable ultrasound image data, which is then output to a display screen. Through coherent and incoherent composite processing, both hyperechoic and hypoechoic regions in the tissue can be displayed well, and the grayscale levels of the ultrasound image are clearly displayed.

[0109] In summary, the ultrasonic imaging method 500 of this invention performs coherent composite of beamforming data with the same receiving angle, the same transmission frequency, but different transmission angles, and performs incoherent composite of the coherent composite data with the beamforming data that has not undergone coherent composite. It does not require actual transmission at all transmission frequencies at every transmission angle, thus enabling the composite image to contain information from multiple frequencies. This ensures the spatial resolution, penetration, and temporal resolution of the composite image without reducing the frame rate. The composite process involves both coherent and incoherent composite, integrating the phase and amplitude information of the data. Coherent composite is performed between data with the same receiving angle and the same transmission frequency, reducing the complexity of the composite algorithm.

[0110] Another embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasound imaging method, see [link to previous document]. Figure 11 The ultrasound imaging method 1100 includes the following steps:

[0111] In step S1110, ultrasonic waves are emitted toward the target tissue of the object being tested at at least three different emission angles, wherein the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles have different emission frequencies, and the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles have the same emission frequency.

[0112] In step S1120, the echo of the ultrasonic wave at each emission angle is received to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each emission angle;

[0113] In step S1130, for each ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to the transmission angle, beamforming is performed at at least two different receiving angles to obtain beamforming data corresponding to different receiving angles.

[0114] In step S1140, based on the transmission angle, reception angle, and transmission frequency corresponding to the beamforming data, at least one coherent composite and at least one incoherent composite are performed on the beamforming data to obtain composite data. Each coherent composite includes coherently composited beamforming data with the same reception angle and the same transmission frequency but different transmission angles to obtain a set of coherent composite data corresponding to the same reception angle and the same transmission frequency. The incoherent composite includes incoherently composited at least two sets of coherent composite data.

[0115] In step S1150, an ultrasound image is generated based on the composite data.

[0116] Similar to the ultrasonic imaging method 500 of this embodiment, the ultrasonic imaging method 1100 also emits ultrasonic waves at at least three emission angles, and performs beamforming at at least two receiving angles for the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each emission angle. The ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles have different emission frequencies, and the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles have the same emission frequency. During the composite process, coherent composite is performed on beamforming data with the same receiving angle, different emission angles, and the same emission frequency. The difference from the ultrasonic imaging method 500 is that, in the ultrasonic imaging method 1100 of this embodiment, all beamforming data at the same receiving angle can first undergo coherent composite, and then incoherent composite can be performed on the coherently composited data, instead of directly performing incoherent composite on the beamforming data that has not undergone coherent composite. For example, if the same receiving angle corresponds to four different emission angles, and the first and fourth emission angles have the same emission frequency, and the second and third emission angles have the same emission frequency, then the beamforming data corresponding to the four emission angles can be coherently composited pairwise, and then the two sets of coherently composited data can be incoherently composited. The composite strategy of ultrasound imaging method 1100 can also be used in combination with the composite strategy of ultrasound imaging method 500, that is, a portion of the receiving angle adopts the composite strategy of ultrasound imaging method 500, and a portion of the receiving angle adopts the composite strategy of ultrasound imaging method 1100.

[0117] Another embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasound imaging method, see [link to previous document]. Figure 12 The ultrasound imaging method 1200 includes the following steps:

[0118] In step S1210, ultrasonic waves are emitted toward the target tissue of the object being tested at at least two different emission angles, wherein the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles have different emission frequencies.

[0119] In step S1220, the echo of the ultrasonic wave at each emission angle is received to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each emission angle;

[0120] In step S1230, for each ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to the transmission angle, beamforming is performed at at least two different receiving angles to obtain beamforming data corresponding to different receiving angles.

[0121] In step S1240, based on the transmission angle, reception angle, and transmission frequency corresponding to the beamforming data, at least one coherent composite and at least one incoherent composite are performed on the beamforming data to obtain composite data. Each coherent composite includes coherently composited beamforming data with the same transmission angle and the same transmission frequency but different reception angles to obtain a set of coherent composite data corresponding to the same transmission angle and the same transmission frequency. The incoherent composite includes incoherently composited at least two sets of coherent composite data.

[0122] In step S1250, an ultrasound image is generated based on the composite data.

[0123] The ultrasonic imaging method 1200 of this invention emits ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles, and performs beamforming at at least two receiving angles for the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each emission angle. The emission frequencies of the ultrasonic waves at the at least two emission angles are different. During the beamforming process, coherent composite is performed on beamforming data with the same emission angle but different receiving angles. Since the emission frequency corresponding to beamforming data at any receiving angle under the same emission angle is the same, coherent composite of beamforming data with the same emission angle but different receiving angles makes data processing easier.

[0124] In some embodiments, when coherently combining beamforming data with the same transmission angle and frequency but different reception angles, coherent combining can be performed on beamforming data at all reception angles for each transmission angle to obtain coherent composite data corresponding to each transmission angle. Subsequently, when performing incoherent combining, incoherent combining can be performed on the coherent composite data corresponding to all transmission angles to obtain composite data. For example, in Figure 6 In the example, beamforming data corresponding to three different receiving angles under a first transmission angle and a first transmission frequency can be coherently combined to obtain coherent composite data corresponding to the first transmission angle. Similarly, beamforming data corresponding to three different receiving angles under a second transmission angle and a second transmission frequency can be coherently combined to obtain coherent composite data corresponding to the second transmission angle. Furthermore, beamforming data corresponding to three different receiving angles under a third transmission angle and a first transmission frequency can be coherently combined to obtain coherent composite data corresponding to the third transmission angle. Finally, the three sets of coherent composite data can be incoherently combined to obtain composite data, such that the composite data contains frequency information of the first and second transmission frequencies as well as spatial information of multiple different angles.

[0125] In some embodiments, the transmission angle includes a vertical transmission angle perpendicular to the plane where the ultrasonic wave emitting element is located, and at least two deflection transmission angles symmetrical to each other based on the vertical transmission angle; the receiving angle includes a vertical receiving angle parallel to the vertical transmission angle, and at least two deflection receiving angles parallel to the at least two deflection transmission angles respectively. Exemplarily, the angle between the line containing each transmission angle and the line containing the corresponding receiving angle does not exceed the maximum angle between the normal direction of the ultrasonic wave emitting element and the transmission angle, to ensure signal strength. The number of different receiving angles in all receiving angles is the same as the number of different transmission angles in all transmission angles, to reduce the difficulty of data processing.

[0126] Since the ultrasonic imaging method 1200 coherently combines data at the same emission angle, it can ensure that the emission frequencies of the coherently combined data are the same. Therefore, different emission frequencies can be used for different emission angles. In other embodiments, at least two emission angles can have the same emission frequency to reduce the difficulty of data processing. For example, the emission frequencies corresponding to two deflection emission angles that are symmetrical about the vertical emission angle can be the same to further improve the coherence of the data.

[0127] The ultrasonic imaging method 1200 of this invention performs coherent composite of beamforming data with the same transmission angle and frequency but different reception angles, and performs incoherent composite of at least two sets of coherent composite data. It does not require actual transmission at all frequencies at every transmission angle, thus enabling the composite image to contain information from multiple frequencies. This ensures the spatial resolution, penetration, and temporal resolution of the composite image without reducing the frame rate. The composite process involves both coherent and incoherent composites, integrating the phase and amplitude information of the data. Coherent composite is performed between data with the same transmission angle and frequency, reducing the complexity of the composite algorithm. Further details of the ultrasonic imaging method 1200 can be found in the description of the ultrasonic imaging method 500, and will not be repeated here.

[0128] Another embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasound imaging method, see [link to previous document]. Figure 13 The ultrasound imaging method 1300 includes the following steps:

[0129] In step S1310, ultrasonic waves are emitted toward the target tissue of the object being tested at at least two different emission angles, wherein the emission frequencies of the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles are different.

[0130] In step S1320, the echo of the ultrasonic wave at each emission angle is received to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each emission angle;

[0131] In step S1330, for each ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to the transmission angle, beamforming is performed at at least two different receiving angles to obtain beamforming data corresponding to different receiving angles.

[0132] In step S1340, based on the transmission angle, reception angle, and transmission frequency corresponding to the beamforming data, at least one coherent composite and at least one incoherent composite are performed on the beamforming data to obtain composite data. Each coherent composite includes coherently composited beamforming data with the same transmission angle and the same transmission frequency but different reception angles to obtain a set of coherent composite data corresponding to the same transmission angle and the same transmission frequency. The incoherent composite includes incoherently composited at least one set of coherent composite data with the beamforming data that has not undergone coherent composite.

[0133] In step S1350, an ultrasound image is generated based on the composite data.

[0134] Similar to the ultrasound imaging method 1200 of this embodiment, the ultrasound imaging method 1300 also emits ultrasound waves at at least two emission angles, with different emission frequencies corresponding to the ultrasound waves at the at least two emission angles. Beamforming is performed at at least two receiving angles for the ultrasound echo signal corresponding to each emission angle. During the composite process, coherent composite is performed on the beamforming data with the same emission angle but different receiving angles. The difference from the ultrasound imaging method 1200 is that, in the ultrasound imaging method 1300 of this embodiment, after obtaining the coherent composite data, incoherent composite is performed based on the coherent composite data and the beamforming data that has not undergone coherent composite, thereby obtaining composite data, and an ultrasound image is generated based on the composite data.

[0135] In some embodiments, the transmission angle includes a vertical transmission angle perpendicular to the plane where the array element emitting the ultrasonic wave is located, and at least two deflection transmission angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the vertical transmission angle. The receiving angle includes a vertical receiving angle parallel to the vertical transmission angle, and at least two deflection receiving angles that are parallel to the at least two deflection transmission angles respectively. Coherent composite includes extracting beamforming data corresponding to at least two deflection transmission angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the vertical transmission angle from the beamforming data corresponding to the vertical transmission angle and performing coherent composite to obtain coherent composite data. Beamforming data corresponding to deflection transmission angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the vertical transmission angle has better coherence and a better coherent composite effect. Incoherent composite includes performing incoherent composite on at least one set of coherent composite data corresponding to the vertical transmission angle, and on beamforming data corresponding to the vertical transmission angle and the vertical receiving angle that have not undergone coherent composite.

[0136] For example, the transmission angles include a first transmission angle, a second transmission angle, a third transmission angle, a fourth transmission angle, and a fifth transmission angle. The third transmission angle is a vertical transmission angle. The first and fifth transmission angles are deflection transmission angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the third transmission angle. The second and fourth transmission angles are also deflection transmission angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the third transmission angle. For example, the transmission frequencies corresponding to the first and fifth transmission angles are the first transmission frequency, the transmission frequencies corresponding to the second and fourth transmission angles are the second transmission frequency, and the transmission frequency corresponding to the third transmission angle is the third transmission frequency.

[0137] The receiving angles corresponding to the first transmission angle include the first receiving angle, the second receiving angle, and the third receiving angle; the receiving angles corresponding to the second transmission angle include the first receiving angle, the second receiving angle, the third receiving angle, and the fourth receiving angle; the receiving angles corresponding to the third transmission angle include the first receiving angle, the second receiving angle, the third receiving angle, the fourth receiving angle, and the fifth receiving angle; the receiving angles corresponding to the fourth transmission angle include the second receiving angle, the third receiving angle, the fourth receiving angle, and the fifth receiving angle; the receiving angles corresponding to the fifth transmission angle include the third receiving angle, the fourth receiving angle, and the fifth receiving angle. The third receiving angle is a vertical receiving angle, and the first and fifth receiving angles are deflection receiving angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the third receiving angle. The second and fourth receiving angles are also deflection receiving angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the third receiving angle.

[0138] When transmitting and receiving based on the above transmission and reception strategies, coherent composite data can be performed on the beamforming data corresponding to the third transmission angle and the first reception angle, and on the beamforming data corresponding to the third transmission angle and the fifth reception angle; coherent composite data can also be performed on the beamforming data corresponding to the third transmission angle and the second reception angle, and on the beamforming data corresponding to the third transmission angle and the fourth reception angle, thereby obtaining two sets of coherent composite data corresponding to the third transmission angle.

[0139] In addition to the vertical transmission angle, beamforming data corresponding to at least two different receiving angles at at least one deflected transmission angle can be coherently combined to obtain coherently combined data corresponding to at least one deflected transmission angle. The data used for incoherent combining also includes the coherently combined data corresponding to at least one deflected receiving angle. For example, beamforming data corresponding to a second transmission angle and a second receiving angle, and beamforming data corresponding to a second transmission angle and a fourth receiving angle can be coherently combined, as can beamforming data corresponding to a fourth transmission angle and a second receiving angle, and beamforming data corresponding to a fourth transmission angle and a fourth receiving angle. The obtained coherently combined data can then be incoherently combined with other beamforming data that have not undergone coherent combining.

[0140] The ultrasonic imaging method 1300 of this invention performs coherent composite of beamforming data with the same transmission angle and frequency but different reception angles, and performs incoherent composite of the coherently composited data with the non-coherently composited beamforming data. It does not require actual transmission at all transmission frequencies at every transmission angle, thus enabling the composite image to contain information from multiple frequencies. This ensures the spatial resolution, penetration, and temporal resolution of the composite image without reducing the frame rate. Both coherent and incoherent composites are performed during the composite process, integrating the phase and amplitude information of the data. Coherent composite is performed between data with the same transmission angle and frequency, reducing the complexity of the composite algorithm. Further details of the ultrasonic imaging method 1300 can be found in the relevant description in the ultrasonic imaging method 500, and will not be repeated here.

[0141] This invention also provides an ultrasound imaging system for implementing the ultrasound imaging method 500, ultrasound imaging method 1100, ultrasound imaging method 1200, or ultrasound imaging method 1300 described above. Now, referring back to… Figure 1 This ultrasound imaging system can achieve the following: Figure 1 The ultrasound imaging system 100 shown may include an ultrasound probe 110, a transmitting circuit 112, a receiving circuit 114, a processor 116, and a display 118. Optionally, the ultrasound imaging system 100 may also include a transmit / receive selection switch 120 and a beamforming module 122. The transmitting circuit 112 and the receiving circuit 114 can be connected to the ultrasound probe 110 through the transmit / receive selection switch 120. The relevant descriptions of each component can be referred to the relevant descriptions above, and will not be repeated here.

[0142] The transmitting circuit 112 is used to excite the ultrasound probe 110 to emit ultrasound waves toward the target tissue; the receiving circuit 114 is used to control the ultrasound probe 110 to receive the echo of the ultrasound waves to obtain an ultrasound echo signal; the processor 116 is used to execute the steps of the ultrasound imaging method 500, ultrasound imaging method 1100, ultrasound imaging method 1200, or ultrasound imaging method 1300 as described above. The processor 116 is also used to control the display 118 to display ultrasound images.

[0143] The above only describes the main functions of each component of the ultrasound imaging system; for more details, please refer to the relevant description of the ultrasound imaging method. This invention relates to an ultrasound imaging system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0144] Although exemplary embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the above exemplary embodiments are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Various changes and modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as claimed in the appended claims.

[0145] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this invention.

[0146] In the several embodiments provided by this invention, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another device, or some features may be ignored or not executed.

[0147] Numerous specific details are set forth in the specification provided herein. However, it will be understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this specification.

[0148] Similarly, it should be understood that, in order to streamline the invention and aid in understanding one or more of the various aspects of the invention, features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof in the description of exemplary embodiments of the invention. However, this approach should not be construed as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as reflected in the corresponding claims, its inventive point lies in solving the corresponding technical problem with fewer features than all of those in a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into that detailed description, wherein each claim itself is a separate embodiment of the invention.

[0149] Those skilled in the art will understand that, apart from the mutual exclusion of features, all features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) and all processes or units of any method or apparatus so disclosed can be combined in any combination. Unless otherwise expressly stated, each feature disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) may be replaced by an alternative feature that serves the same, equivalent, or similar purpose.

[0150] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that although some embodiments described herein include certain features but not others included in other embodiments, combinations of features from different embodiments are intended to be within the scope of the invention and form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

[0151] The various component embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in hardware, or as software modules running on one or more processors, or a combination thereof. Those skilled in the art will understand that microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs) can be used in practice to implement some or all of the functions of some modules according to embodiments of the present invention. The present invention can also be implemented as an apparatus program (e.g., a computer program and computer program product) for performing some or all of the methods described herein. Such programs implementing the present invention can be stored on a computer-readable medium, or can be in the form of one or more signals. Such signals can be downloaded from an Internet website, provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.

[0152] It should be noted that the above embodiments are illustrative of the invention and not restrictive, and that those skilled in the art can devise alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses should not be construed as limiting the claims. The invention can be implemented by means of hardware comprising several different elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the unit claims enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by the same item of hardware. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc., does not indicate any order. These words can be interpreted as names.

[0153] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention or an explanation of that embodiment. The scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An ultrasound imaging method, characterized in that, The method includes: Ultrasonic waves are emitted toward the target tissue of the object being tested at at least three different emission angles, wherein the emission frequencies of the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles are different, and the emission frequencies of the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles are the same. The echo of the ultrasonic wave at each emission angle is received to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each emission angle; For each transmission angle, the ultrasonic echo signal is beamformed at at least two different reception angles to obtain beamformed data corresponding to different reception angles. Based on the transmit angle, receive angle, and transmit frequency corresponding to the beamforming data, the beamforming data undergoes at least one coherent composite and at least one incoherent composite to obtain composite data. Each coherent composite includes coherently composited beamforming data with the same receive angle and transmit frequency but different transmit angles to obtain a set of coherent composite data corresponding to the same receive angle and transmit frequency. The incoherent composite includes incoherently composited at least one set of coherent composite data with the beamforming data that has not undergone coherent composite. An ultrasound image is generated based on the composite data.

2. The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of incoherently combining at least one set of the coherent composite data with the beamforming data that has not undergone coherent composite includes: The coherent composite data corresponding to each receiving angle is incoherently composited with the beamforming data that has not been coherently composited at the same receiving angle to obtain the incoherent composite data corresponding to each receiving angle. The incoherent composite data corresponding to different receiving angles are incoherently composited to obtain the composite data.

3. The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of incoherently combining at least one set of the coherent composite data with the beamforming data that has not undergone coherent composite includes: The coherent composite data corresponding to multiple receiving angles and the beamforming data corresponding to multiple receiving angles that have not undergone coherent composite are coherently composited together to obtain the composite data.

4. The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The coherent recombination is performed at part or all of the receiving angle.

5. The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The emission angle includes a vertical emission angle that is perpendicular to the plane in which the array element emitting the ultrasonic wave is located, and at least two deflection emission angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the vertical emission angle. The emission frequencies of the deflection emission angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the same vertical emission angle are the same. The receiving angle includes a vertical receiving angle parallel to the vertical transmission angle, and at least two deflection receiving angles parallel to the at least two deflection transmission angles respectively. The coherent composite includes coherently composited beamforming data with the same transmission angle, the same transmission frequency, and a receiving angle symmetrical about the vertical receiving angle. The beamforming data that has not undergone coherent composite is the beamforming data corresponding to the vertical transmit angle and the vertical receive angle.

6. The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The emission angle includes a first emission angle, a second emission angle, and a third emission angle, wherein the second emission angle is the vertical emission angle, and the first emission angle and the third emission angle are deflection emission angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the first emission angle. The transmission frequencies corresponding to the first transmission angle and the third transmission angle are the first transmission frequency, and the transmission frequency corresponding to the second transmission angle is the second transmission frequency; The receiving angles corresponding to the first transmission angle, the second transmission angle, and the third transmission angle respectively include a first receiving angle, a second receiving angle, and a third receiving angle, wherein the second receiving angle is the vertical receiving angle, and the first receiving angle and the third receiving angle are parallel to the first transmission angle and the third transmission angle, respectively. The coherent composite of beamforming data with the same receiving angle and the same transmitting frequency but different transmitting angles to obtain a set of coherent composite data corresponding to the same receiving angle and the same transmitting frequency includes: The beamforming data corresponding to the first transmission angle, the first transmission frequency, and the first reception angle are coherently combined with the beamforming data corresponding to the third transmission angle, the first transmission frequency, and the first reception angle to obtain the first coherent composite data. The beamforming data corresponding to the first transmission angle, the first transmission frequency, and the second reception angle are coherently combined with the beamforming data corresponding to the third transmission angle, the first transmission frequency, and the second reception angle to obtain second coherent composite data. The beamforming data corresponding to the first transmission angle, the first transmission frequency, and the third reception angle are coherently combined with the beamforming data corresponding to the third transmission angle, the first transmission frequency, and the third reception angle to obtain third coherent composite data. The incoherent compositing includes performing the incoherent compositing on the first coherent compositing data, the second coherent compositing data, the third coherent compositing data, the beamforming data corresponding to the second transmission angle, the second transmission frequency, and the first receiving angle, the beamforming data corresponding to the second transmission angle, the second transmission frequency, and the second receiving angle, and the beamforming data corresponding to the second transmission angle, the second transmission frequency, and the third receiving angle.

7. The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The emission angles include a first emission angle, a second emission angle, a third emission angle, a fourth emission angle, and a fifth emission angle. The third emission angle is the vertical emission angle. The first emission angle and the fifth emission angle are deflection emission angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the third emission angle. The second emission angle and the fourth emission angle are deflection emission angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the third emission angle. The transmission frequencies corresponding to the first transmission angle and the fifth transmission angle are the first transmission frequency, the transmission frequencies corresponding to the second transmission angle and the fourth transmission angle are the second transmission frequency, and the transmission frequency corresponding to the third transmission angle is the third transmission frequency; The receiving angles corresponding to the first transmission angle include a first receiving angle, a second receiving angle, and a third receiving angle; the receiving angles corresponding to the second transmission angle include the first receiving angle, the second receiving angle, the third receiving angle, and a fourth receiving angle; the receiving angles corresponding to the third transmission angle include the first receiving angle, the second receiving angle, the third receiving angle, the fourth receiving angle, and a fifth receiving angle; the receiving angles corresponding to the fourth transmission angle include the second receiving angle, the third receiving angle, the fourth receiving angle, and the fifth receiving angle; the receiving angles corresponding to the fifth transmission angle include the second receiving angle, the third receiving angle, the fourth receiving angle, and the fifth receiving angle; the third receiving angle is the vertical receiving angle, the first receiving angle and the fifth receiving angle are parallel to the first transmission angle and the fifth transmission angle, respectively, and the second receiving angle and the fourth receiving angle are parallel to the second transmission angle and the fourth transmission angle, respectively; The coherent composite of beamforming data with the same receiving angle and the same transmitting frequency but different transmitting angles to obtain a set of coherent composite data corresponding to the same receiving angle and the same transmitting frequency includes: The beamforming data corresponding to the second transmission angle, the second transmission frequency, and the second reception angle are coherently combined with the beamforming data corresponding to the fourth transmission angle, the second transmission frequency, and the second reception angle to obtain fourth coherent composite data. The beamforming data corresponding to the first transmission angle, the first transmission frequency, and the third reception angle are coherently combined with the beamforming data corresponding to the fifth transmission angle, the first transmission frequency, and the third reception angle to obtain the fifth coherent composite data. The beamforming data corresponding to the second transmission angle, the second transmission frequency, and the third receiving angle are coherently combined with the beamforming data corresponding to the fourth transmission angle, the second transmission frequency, and the third receiving angle to obtain the sixth coherent composite data. The beamforming data corresponding to the second transmission angle, the second transmission frequency, and the fourth receiving angle are coherently combined with the beamforming data corresponding to the fourth transmission angle, the second transmission frequency, and the fourth receiving angle to obtain the seventh coherent composite data. The incoherent compositing includes performing the incoherent compositing on the fourth coherent compositing data, the fifth coherent compositing data, the sixth coherent compositing data, the seventh coherent compositing data, and beamforming data that has not undergone the coherent compositing.

8. The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The angle between the line containing each of the emission angles and the line containing the corresponding receiving angle does not exceed the maximum angle between the normal direction of the element emitting the ultrasonic wave and the emission angle.

9. The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of different receiving angles is the same as the number of different transmitting angles across all receiving angles.

10. An ultrasound imaging method, characterized in that, The method includes: Ultrasonic waves are emitted toward the target tissue of the object being tested at at least three different emission angles, wherein the emission frequencies of the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles are different, and the emission frequencies of the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles are the same. The echo of the ultrasonic wave at each emission angle is received to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each emission angle; For each transmission angle, the ultrasonic echo signal is beamformed at at least two different reception angles to obtain beamformed data corresponding to different reception angles. Based on the transmit angle, receive angle, and transmit frequency corresponding to the beamforming data, the beamforming data is subjected to at least one coherent composite and at least one incoherent composite to obtain composite data. Each coherent composite includes coherently composited beamforming data with the same receive angle and the same transmit frequency but different transmit angles to obtain a set of coherent composite data corresponding to the same receive angle and the same transmit frequency. The incoherent composite includes incoherently composited at least two sets of coherent composite data. An ultrasound image is generated based on the composite data.

11. An ultrasound imaging method, characterized in that, The method includes: Ultrasonic waves are emitted toward the target tissue of the object being tested at at least two different emission angles, wherein the emission frequencies of the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles are different; The echo of the ultrasonic wave at each emission angle is received to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each emission angle; For each transmission angle, the ultrasonic echo signal is beamformed at at least two different receiving angles to obtain beamformed data corresponding to different receiving angles. The transmission frequency corresponding to the beamformed data at any receiving angle under the same transmission angle is the same. Based on the transmit angle, receive angle, and transmit frequency corresponding to the beamforming data, the beamforming data is subjected to at least one coherent composite and at least one incoherent composite to obtain composite data. Each coherent composite includes coherently composited beamforming data with the same transmit angle and the same transmit frequency but different receive angles to obtain a set of coherent composite data corresponding to the same transmit angle and the same transmit frequency. The incoherent composite includes incoherently composited at least two sets of coherent composite data. An ultrasound image is generated based on the composite data.

12. The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The coherent composite of beamforming data with the same transmission angle and frequency but different reception angles to obtain a set of coherent composite data corresponding to the same transmission angle and frequency includes: The beamforming data for all receiving angles at each transmission angle are coherently combined to obtain coherent composite data for each transmission angle. The step of performing incoherent compositing on at least two sets of coherent composite data includes: performing incoherent compositing on the coherent composite data corresponding to all emission angles to obtain the composite data.

13. The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The emission angle includes a vertical emission angle perpendicular to the plane where the array element emitting the ultrasonic wave is located, and at least two deflection emission angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the vertical emission angle; the receiving angle includes a vertical receiving angle parallel to the vertical emission angle, and at least two deflection receiving angles that are parallel to the at least two deflection emission angles respectively.

14. The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The two deflection angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the vertical emission angle correspond to the same emission frequency.

15. The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The angle between the line containing each of the emission angles and the line containing the corresponding receiving angle does not exceed the maximum angle between the normal direction of the element emitting the ultrasonic wave and the emission angle.

16. The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The number of different receiving angles is the same as the number of different transmitting angles across all receiving angles.

17. An ultrasound imaging method, characterized in that, The method includes: Ultrasonic waves are emitted toward the target tissue of the object being tested at at least two different emission angles, wherein the emission frequencies of the ultrasonic waves at at least two emission angles are different; The echo of the ultrasonic wave at each emission angle is received to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each emission angle; For each transmission angle, the ultrasonic echo signal is beamformed at at least two different receiving angles to obtain beamformed data corresponding to different receiving angles. The transmission frequency corresponding to the beamformed data at any receiving angle under the same transmission angle is the same. Based on the transmission angle, reception angle, and transmission frequency corresponding to the beamforming data, the beamforming data undergoes at least one coherent composite and at least one incoherent composite to obtain composite data. Each coherent composite includes coherently composited beamforming data with the same transmission angle and frequency but different reception angles to obtain a set of coherent composite data corresponding to the same transmission angle and frequency. The incoherent composite includes incoherently composited at least one set of coherent composite data with the beamforming data that has not undergone coherent composite. An ultrasound image is generated based on the composite data.

18. The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The emission angle includes a vertical emission angle that is perpendicular to the plane in which the array element emitting the ultrasonic wave is located, and at least two deflection emission angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the vertical emission angle; the receiving angle includes a vertical receiving angle that is parallel to the vertical emission angle, and at least two deflection receiving angles that are parallel to the at least two deflection emission angles respectively. The coherent composite of beamforming data with the same transmission angle and frequency but different reception angles to obtain a set of coherent composite data corresponding to the same transmission angle and frequency includes: In the beamforming data corresponding to the vertical transmission angle, at least two beamforming data corresponding to deflection transmission angles that are symmetrical to each other based on the vertical transmission angle are extracted and coherently combined to obtain the coherent composite data. The incoherent compositing includes incoherently compositing at least one set of coherent composite data corresponding to the vertical transmission angle, and non-coherently composited beamforming data corresponding to the vertical transmission angle and the vertical reception angle.

19. The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The method of coherently combining beamforming data with the same transmission angle and frequency but different receiving angles to obtain coherent composite data further includes: Coherently combine beamforming data corresponding to at least two different receiving angles at at least one of the deflection transmission angles to obtain coherent composite data corresponding to at least one of the deflection transmission angles; The data used for the incoherent compositing also includes the coherent compositing data corresponding to at least one of the deflection receiving angles.

20. An ultrasound imaging system, characterized in that, include: Ultrasonic probe; A transmitting circuit is used to excite the ultrasound probe to emit ultrasound waves toward the target tissue. A receiving circuit is used to control the ultrasonic probe to receive the ultrasonic echo signal of the ultrasonic wave; A processor for executing the ultrasound imaging method according to any one of claims 1-19 to generate an ultrasound image; A display for showing the ultrasound images.

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