US 11,965,959 B2
Adaptive ultrasound flow imaging
Shiying Wang, Melrose, MA (US); Sheng-Wen Huang, Ossining, NY (US); Hua Xie, Cambridge, MA (US); Keith William Johnson, Lynwood, WA (US); Liang Zhang, Issaquah, WA (US); Thanasis Loupas, Kirkland, WA (US); and Truong Huy Nguyen, Redmond, WA (US)
Assigned to KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V., Eindhoven (NL)
Appl. No. 17/287,623
Filed by KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V., Eindhoven (NL)
PCT Filed Oct. 14, 2019, PCT No. PCT/EP2019/077690
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Apr. 22, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/083679, PCT Pub. Date Apr. 30, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/749,170, filed on Oct. 23, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0373154 A1, Dec. 2, 2021
Int. Cl. G01S 15/89 (2006.01); A61B 8/06 (2006.01); A61B 8/08 (2006.01); G01S 7/52 (2006.01)
CPC G01S 15/8984 (2013.01) [A61B 8/06 (2013.01); A61B 8/488 (2013.01); A61B 8/5207 (2013.01); G01S 7/52085 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An ultrasound imaging system comprising:
an ultrasound transducer configured to acquire echo signals responsive to ultrasound pulses transmitted toward a target region comprising fluid flow;
one or more processors in communication with the ultrasound transducer and configured to:
determine one or more flow properties of the fluid flow on a frame-by-frame basis within the target region based on one or more groups of echo signals acquired during a first acquisition phase, wherein the one or more flow properties comprise a mean flow velocity magnitude and an acceleration; and
determine one or more adjusted flow imaging parameters based on the one or more flow properties, wherein the one or more adjusted flow imaging parameters comprise an adjusted ensemble length and an adjusted step size, and wherein step size is related to flow acceleration or deceleration and is used for autocorrelation estimation; and
a beamformer coupled with the ultrasound transducer and configured to apply the one or more adjusted flow imaging parameters on a frame-by-frame basis when obtaining a next group of echo signals acquired by the ultrasound transducer during a second acquisition phase.