US 11,883,240 B2
Sparse convolutional beamforming for ultrasound imaging
Yonina C. Eldar, Rehovot (IL); and Regev Cohen, Afula (IL)
Appl. No. 17/047,265
Filed by Yonina C. Eldar, Rehovot (IL); and Regev Cohen, Afula (IL)
PCT Filed Apr. 15, 2019, PCT No. PCT/IL2019/050428
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Oct. 13, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/202593, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 24, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/657,846, filed on Apr. 15, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0212666 A1, Jul. 15, 2021
Int. Cl. A61B 8/08 (2006.01); G01S 15/89 (2006.01); A61B 8/00 (2006.01); G01S 7/52 (2006.01)
CPC A61B 8/5207 (2013.01) [G01S 15/8915 (2013.01); A61B 8/4483 (2013.01); G01S 7/52047 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of producing an image by at least one processor, the method comprising:
receiving from a transducer array, having a plurality of transducer elements, a respective plurality of signals comprising reflections of a transmitted signal from a target;
computing a sub-array U of transducer elements of the transducer array;
computing a signal vector comprising delayed versions of the plurality of signals of the transducer elements of sub-array U;
performing a convolution of the signal vector with itself;
calculating a weighted sum of the results of said convolution, to derive a beamformed signal; and
reconstructing an image of said target, based on said beamformed signal in real-time,
wherein the transducer array is a Uniform Linear Array (ULA), and wherein sub-array U is computed such that a sum co-array of sub-array U comprises all transducer elements of the ULA, and
wherein the transducer array comprises a plurality (2N−1) of transducer elements, wherein N is a product of integers A and B, and wherein the method further comprises:
calculating a subset UA of the (2N−1) transducer elements, based on A;
calculating a subset UB of the (2N−1) transducer elements, based on A and B; and
calculating sub-array U as a unification of subsets UA and UB, having less than (2N−1) transducer elements.