Ultrasound Apodization Null Subtraction Imaging
Solution Overview
Problem
Ultrasound imaging often suffers from image distortion due to sidelobes in the radiation pattern, which affects the accuracy and clarity of the images produced.
Innovation Solution
The method employs null subtraction apodization schemes by applying different apodization weights to ultrasound echoes, including a zero-mean and a non-zero mean apodization weight, and their transposed versions, to generate and combine images that reduce sidelobes and improve lateral resolution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional apodization is used to shape radiation patterns, then image distortion is reduced, but lateral resolution deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the imaging process into multiple passes, each with different apodization weights. The first pass uses apodization to reduce sidelobes and distortion, while the second pass uses different apodization to capture high-resolution data. This segmentation allows each pass to be optimized for its specific purpose, resolving the contradiction between distortion reduction and resolution maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the apodization parameters between imaging passes. By using different apodization weights (first apodization weight vs. second apodization weight) in different passes, the system can optimize for distortion reduction in one pass and resolution in another, then combine the results to achieve both goals simultaneously.
2Measurement precision
If apodization weights are applied to reduce sidelobes, then image clarity improves, but image distortion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies apodization weights in reverse order of their typical application. Instead of applying strong apodization first and then trying to correct distortion, the system uses minimal apodization in the first pass to maintain fidelity, then applies different apodization in the second pass to reduce sidelobes. The images are then combined to achieve both clarity and minimal distortion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses an intermediary combining process that merges images from two different apodization passes. This intermediary step allows the system to capture the benefits of both passes: the first pass provides accurate structural information with minimal distortion, while the second pass provides enhanced sidelobe suppression for clarity. The combination resolves the contradiction between clarity and distortion.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple imaging passes with different apodization are used, then lateral resolution improves, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the results from multiple imaging passes into a single final image. By combining the first image (acquired with first apodization) and the second image (acquired with second apodization) using a merging operation, the system achieves improved lateral resolution while managing processing complexity through a systematic combination approach rather than requiring completely separate processing pipelines.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly enhances lateral resolution and maintains low sidelobe levels, providing clearer and more accurate ultrasound images by exploiting the properties of null beams in the beam pattern.
Implementation Method 1
Ultrasound imaging utilizes sound waves with frequencies that are higher than those audible to humans. The ultrasonic images are made by sending pulses of ultrasound into a target (e.g., human tissue) using a probe.
Implementation Method 2
The sound echoes off the target with different portions of the target reflecting varying degrees of sound. These echoes are recorded and displayed as an image.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, applying different apodization weights for ultrasound echoes to generate a plurality of images of a target where one of the apodization weights has a zero mean value across an aperture of a transducer array and generating a null subtracted image of the target by combining the plurality of images. Other embodiments are disclosed.