US 11,786,219 B2
Method for determining a physical characteristic on a punctual location inside a medium, a method for determining an image of a medium, and an apparatus implementing said methods
Matthew Bruce, Les Milles (FR); and Charles Tremblay-Darveau, Toronto (CA)
Assigned to SUPERSONIC IMAGINE, Aix-en-Provence (FR)
Filed by SUPERSONIC IMAGINE, Aix-en-Provence (FR)
Filed on May 20, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/326,000.
Application 17/326,000 is a continuation of application No. 15/111,214, granted, now 11,058,401, previously published as PCT/EP2015/051369, filed on Jan. 23, 2015.
Claims priority of provisional application 61/930,805, filed on Jan. 23, 2014.
Prior Publication US 2021/0267576 A1, Sep. 2, 2021
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. A61B 8/08 (2006.01); G01S 7/52 (2006.01); G01S 15/89 (2006.01); A61B 8/14 (2006.01); A61B 8/00 (2006.01)
CPC A61B 8/5207 (2013.01) [A61B 8/0891 (2013.01); A61B 8/14 (2013.01); A61B 8/4444 (2013.01); A61B 8/481 (2013.01); G01S 7/52039 (2013.01); G01S 7/52071 (2013.01); G01S 15/8963 (2013.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for determining an image of a region inside a medium, the image being composed of a plurality of pixels, each pixel having a pixel value corresponding to a physical characteristic representing the nature of the medium, wherein the method comprises for one or more locations inside the region, the following steps:
sending an emitted sequence of ultrasound waves into the medium towards the location, the emitted sequence comprising at least two emitted pulses having different amplitudes,
receiving a received sequence of ultrasound waves from the location, the received sequence comprising at least two received pulses corresponding to echoes of said emitted pulses,
calculating a phase difference between the received pulses relative to the emitted pulses,
determining the image by a succession of sending an emitted sequence of ultrasound waves, receiving a received sequence of ultrasound waves, and calculating a phase difference are repeated several times at each location for providing a plurality of phase differences for each location, and
wherein each pixel value of the image is determined on the bases of the plurality of phase differences at each location, each pixel corresponding to a location in the medium, and each pixel value corresponding to a physical characteristic of said location in the medium.