Handheld Ultrasound Beamformer Flag Table Compression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Handheld ultrasound imaging systems face challenges in reducing computational resources while maintaining image quality, leading to increased size, weight, power consumption, and latency, which affects their clinical utility and performance in real-time applications.
Innovation Solution
A handheld ultrasound system with a processor and analog-to-digital converter that selectively stores ultrasound signal samples based on delay times, using a flag table to discard unnecessary samples and reduce memory and power usage, allowing for real-time beamforming and image generation with reduced complexity and size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional ultrasound data processing methods are used, then image quality can be maintained, but computational resources and device size increase substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and processes only the most relevant ultrasound signal characteristics (envelope detection, peak detection) while discarding redundant information. This selective extraction maintains diagnostic image quality while substantially reducing computational resource requirements and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial processing by focusing computational efforts only on critical signal features rather than processing the entire ultrasound dataset in detail. This partial action approach preserves essential diagnostic information while reducing overall computational burden.
2Productivity
If more computational resources are allocated, then image processing capability improves, but power consumption and device weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only essential signal features (envelope, peaks, valleys) for processing, eliminating the need for computationally intensive full-signal processing. This extraction approach maintains adequate image processing capability while dramatically reducing power consumption in handheld devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs simplified, less computationally expensive processing algorithms that consume less power. While these algorithms use fewer resources, they still provide sufficient processing capability for diagnostic imaging in battery-powered handheld devices.
3Quantity of substance
If data compression is applied to reduce data size, then transmission bandwidth requirements decrease, but image quality degradation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and transmits only the most diagnostically relevant signal characteristics (envelope data, peak/valley positions) while discarding redundant raw signal data. This selective extraction reduces transmitted data size by significant factors while preserving essential diagnostic image quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial data transmission by sending only critical signal features rather than complete raw ultrasound data. This partial transmission approach reduces bandwidth requirements and data storage needs while maintaining sufficient image quality for diagnostic purposes.
4Speed
If real-time processing is implemented, then responsiveness improves, but latency in image generation increases due to computational load
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary processing of ultrasound signals immediately upon reception, extracting envelope and peak information in real-time before full image reconstruction. This preliminary action maintains system responsiveness while minimizing processing latency through staged computation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the image processing pipeline into distinct stages: real-time envelope detection, peak/valley identification, and subsequent image reconstruction. This segmentation allows critical real-time features to be processed immediately while less time-sensitive reconstruction operations follow, reducing overall latency.
Data Source
AI summary
A handheld ultrasound device may comprise components configured to provide decreased size, weight, complexity, and power consumption. The handheld ultrasound device may comprise a beamformer configured to implement and compress a flag table in place of a delay table. These improvements can decrease the amount of memory used to generate ultrasound images, which can decrease the size, weight, and power consumption of the handheld ultrasound device. Ultrasound image data on a handheld imaging probe can be compressed on the handheld imaging probe prior to transmission from the probe in order to decrease the amount of data transmitted from the probe. The compressed data may comprise compressed pixels to maintain spatial image resolution. The compression circuitry may comprise an amount of memory related to a dynamic range of the compressed data that is independent of the dynamic range of the input data, which can decrease memory, power consumption, and latencies.