Touch-Sensitive Ultrasound Display Merging Image and Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ultrasound imaging systems face challenges in providing comprehensive control over settings and functions, especially in environments where keyboards are exposed to fluids, leading to damage and difficulty in sterilization, and require separate displays for images and controls, limiting operator access.
Innovation Solution
An ultrasound system with a display device featuring a touch-sensitive portion that allows concurrent display of ultrasound images and user-selectable elements, enabling operators to adjust imaging settings directly on the same screen, reducing the need for additional controls and protecting the user interface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a keyboard is used for controlling ultrasound system functions, then comprehensive control over settings and functions is achieved, but the keyboard is exposed to fluids causing damage and sterilization difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical keyboard system with a touch-sensitive display interface. The touch-sensitive portion of the display device detects touches directly on the screen surface, eliminating the need for a separate physical keyboard that is vulnerable to fluid damage. This substitution maintains control functionality while improving reliability in fluid-exposed medical environments.
2Illumination intensity
If separate display devices are used for ultrasound images and controls, then image quality is maintained, but operator access to controls is limited and requires switching between displays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the image display function and control interface function into a single display device. The touch-sensitive display simultaneously presents ultrasound images and provides touch-sensitive buttons for control, allowing operators to access both image viewing and system controls on one integrated interface without needing to switch between separate displays.
Solution Approach 2:
The display device is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: it displays ultrasound images while also serving as the control interface through its touch-sensitive portion. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate dedicated control devices, improving operator accessibility while maintaining image display quality.
Data Source
AI summary
An ultrasound system includes a display device and a processor module. The display device is configured to display an ultrasound image. At least a portion of the display device includes a touch sensitive portion that is responsive to a touch in each of a plurality of user selectable elements presented on the display device. The processor module is configured to adjust at least one of the ultrasound image and an imaging setting based on the touch in at least one of the user selectable elements of the display device. The ultrasound image and the user selectable elements are concurrently displayed on the display device.