EP0069677B2 - Vorrichtung für Ultraschall-Echographie zur Sektorabtastung - Google Patents

Vorrichtung für Ultraschall-Echographie zur Sektorabtastung Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0069677B2
EP0069677B2 EP82401291A EP82401291A EP0069677B2 EP 0069677 B2 EP0069677 B2 EP 0069677B2 EP 82401291 A EP82401291 A EP 82401291A EP 82401291 A EP82401291 A EP 82401291A EP 0069677 B2 EP0069677 B2 EP 0069677B2
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EP
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Prior art keywords
transducers
multiplexers
delays
multiplexer
probe
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EP82401291A
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English (en)
French (fr)
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EP0069677A1 (de
EP0069677B1 (de
Inventor
Bruno Richard
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Bruno Richard Te Villejuif Frankrijk
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10K—SOUND-PRODUCING DEVICES; METHODS OR DEVICES FOR PROTECTING AGAINST, OR FOR DAMPING, NOISE OR OTHER ACOUSTIC WAVES IN GENERAL; ACOUSTICS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G10K11/00—Methods or devices for transmitting, conducting or directing sound in general; Methods or devices for protecting against, or for damping, noise or other acoustic waves in general
    • G10K11/18—Methods or devices for transmitting, conducting or directing sound
    • G10K11/26—Sound-focusing or directing, e.g. scanning
    • G10K11/34—Sound-focusing or directing, e.g. scanning using electrical steering of transducer arrays, e.g. beam steering
    • G10K11/341—Circuits therefor
    • G10K11/345—Circuits therefor using energy switching from one active element to another

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an ultrasonic pulse ultrasound probe and a device using such a probe and it finds a particularly important application in the medical field.
  • Ultrasound B Deep exploration of an organ or anatomical structure (ultrasound B) frequently involves scanning.
  • Ultrasound ultrasound devices have already been produced which provide both focusing and linear or sectoral scanning.
  • sector scanning has the great advantage of authorizing the exploration of internal anatomical structures from a very small surface in contact with the skin. It allows in particular to visualize the functioning of the heart muscle using a probe placed so that the ultrasound beam passes between two successive ribs.
  • the scanning can be carried out electronically or mechanically.
  • fully satisfactory devices are known with linear scanning, using a bar comprising a number N of elementary transducers (certificate of addition already mentioned FR-B-2 355 288), the scanning is carried out by moving with each shot the group n of transducers used simultaneously with a distribution of delays or phases ensuring focusing at the required distance.
  • the angular scanning by modification of the phase distribution applied to a group of transducers used for all directions leads to very complicated and high cost electronic technology.
  • mechanical sector scanning devices using a rotary exploration head, they have the disadvantage of being generally much less reliable mechanically than purely electronic devices with fixed exploration head.
  • Ultrasound devices are known in particular (FR-B-2 355 288, FR-A-2 292 978 FR-A-2 472 753) comprising a probe having a linear network of transducers and switching means providing focusing and scanning electronically.
  • FR-B-2 355 288, FR-A-2 292 978 FR-A-2 472 753 comprising a probe having a linear network of transducers and switching means providing focusing and scanning electronically.
  • FR-B-2 355 288, FR-A-2 292 978 FR-A-2 472 753 comprising a probe having a linear network of transducers and switching means providing focusing and scanning electronically.
  • the present invention aims to provide a probe and an ultrasound ultrasound device which responds better than those previously known to the requirements of practice, in particular in that it makes it possible to carry out sectoral scanning in a simple and natural manner, associated with a focusing which can easily be carried out at a variable distance, that is to say of the type commonly called “pursuit”.
  • the invention provides in particular a probe according to claim 1.
  • the probe and the device defined above have many advantages: they have a great flexibility of operation, since they lend themselves perfectly to dynamic focusing; owing to the fact that the transducers are in the immediate vicinity of the medium to be explored, the density of the lines of exploration will exhibit less variation between surface and deep zones than in the case of flat or concavity probes facing the medium. Focusing by geometric or electronic means remains possible in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the line on which the transducers are distributed. The electronic means of implementation remain very simple, because the angular scanning is carried out automatically according to a sector having for center the axis of distribution of the elementary transducers. The electronics of the device make it possible to work successively with very different probes, in particular as regards the radius of the circle on which the transducers are distributed and the spacing of the transducers.
  • This arrangement makes it possible to limit the number of first multiplexers to n, whatever the number N of transducers of the probe, which notably reduces the cost and makes it possible to adopt multiplexers having a high number of channels without however resulting in an excessive cost. It is thus easy to adopt a number a of channels and delays at least equal to 16, this number making it possible to fulfill the quality criteria required for medical applications.
  • N and n they can be 160 and 40 respectively (figures which are rarely exceeded to constitute a lens).
  • Each of the second multiplexers advantageously comprises a transmission element, ensuring the direct connection between said access and a transducer, and a reception element, ensuring the connection via a preamplifier between the transducer and the access of the first multiplexer and in that said elements are controlled by means synchronized with the transmission means so as to block the transmission element during the reception period and vice versa.
  • the switching means can be limited to an address generator causing the implementation of a particular game.
  • the switching means can also be provided to implement any one of several storage memories of different delay distributions at will.
  • the invention requires carrying out a similar focusing using a probe of the kind shown in FIG. 1, comprising N elementary transducers 121, ..., 12 i ...., 12 N of which it will be assumed that n are used with each shot (n being equal to 7 in the illustrated case.
  • the focusing at distance f0 of the ultrasonic energy radiated by the transducers distributed over a circle of radius R can be ensured by attacking the n transducers, from a source of common impulse, by means of appropriate delay members.
  • FIG 1 there is shown schematically, downstream of a pulse amplifier 10 constituting the source of energy on transmission, a set of three delay lines 111, 112 and 113 providing increasing and suitable delays.
  • the excitation pulse is applied directly to the two outermost transducers; via Figure 111 to the two adjdent transducers; via line 112 to the transducers framing the central transducer; and, via line 113, to the central transducer.
  • the same delay combination allows focusing on reception, after which switching means (not shown) involve a group of n transducers offset from the first group to carry out the scanning.
  • the distance F once determined. the distribution of delays to be adopted can be established by applying conventional formulas.
  • This variation can be simulated approximately with a small number of delays.
  • FIG. 2 shows, in dashed lines, the theoretical distribution of delays which would have to be achieved between the transducers as a function of their distance x from the center of the group for a parabolic law.
  • the solid line curve shows the simulation of the law of variation with sampling at several levels of delays each separated by a constant interval ⁇ .
  • the central transducer and the transducers of order 2, 3 and 4 on each side must receive the signal with maximum delay, the transducers of order 5 and 6 must receive it with a delay decreased by ⁇ , and so on.
  • each metallized strip belonging to an elementary transducer can have a circular shape whose radius corresponds to the distance between the ceramic and the point N.
  • Another solution consists in placing, in front of the elementary transducers, a lens, as illustrated in FIG. 4.
  • the common ceramic may have the shape of a portion of cylinder.
  • the lens will be convex if the speed of sound in its constituent material (for example hard synthetic elastomer) is lower than the speed of sound in tissue.
  • This circuit is designed to be associated with a system of N transducers 121, ..., 12 i , ..., 12 N , excitable by pulse. It causes the excitation of n transducers 12 i at each exploration, with a determined distribution of delays: it applies for example the excitation signal with a maximum delay to the transducers of order 1, 2, 3 and 4. It causes a delay of ⁇ on the signal before application to transducers of order 5 and 6, and so on.
  • the electronics which will now be described make it possible to use a number of transmit and receive multiplexers equal to n, therefore being able to be very much less than the total number N of transducers: it is thus possible, at a given cost, to use multiplexers with higher number of channels, sufficient to have a fine sampling, therefore a high focusing precision, and low side lobes.
  • the electronics shown in Figure 5 are intended to be associated with a probe comprising N elementary transducers such as 12 i each associated with a switching circuit 80.
  • Each of the first multiplexers 34 is used in association with several transducers offset by n. For example, the same multiplexer 34 will be associated with the transducers 12 i , 12 i + n , 12 i + 2n , 12 i + 3n in the embodiment envisaged.
  • This first network of multiplexers which makes it possible to select one of the a delay channels supplied by the transmission means, which include a pilot clock 38, a generator 39 and a register 15, is connected to the corresponding transducers by a second network multiplexers, intended to address the transducers.
  • Each of these second multiplexers comprises a transmission element 81 making it possible to establish a direct connection between the input-output access of the first corresponding multiplexer 34 and the circuit 80 of a transducer. It also includes a reception element 82 allowing the reception signal to pass in the other direction, towards the access of the associated multiplexer 34, through a preamplifier 33.
  • the latter can be particularly neat, given that its cost will have little influence on that of the whole device, because it will suffice n preamplifiers for N transducers.
  • the circuits directly associated with the transducers can be of simple constitution. They may in particular comprise a single active component on emission, constituted for example by a V MOS transistor which has the advantage of very quickly switching a high power, supplied by a voltage source -V, under the action of a low intensity control signal from the second multiplexer.
  • the selection of the channel connected by the first network of multiplexers to the transducers is carried out on the basis of information carried by shift registers 35 which, in the case of the use of sixteen channels, may be registers with four times four binary elements.
  • the clock 87 controlling the registers 35 will give a clock tick before each transmission and a stroke after each transmission.
  • An initialization system is provided so that the clock 87 emits a sufficient number of strokes to position the information, taken from a storage means 37, in the first n registers 35.
  • the first shot will be centered on the twentieth transducer of the bar.
  • exploration can be started without waiting to have loaded the entire "lens" into the registers.
  • the second network of multiplexers is associated with a common command generator 88 which, for each shot, issues a common command 89 which releases the element 81 for a short period of time tightly framing the group of logic control and transmission signals. element 82 during the additional time.
  • the selection of the transducers supplied by the second network of multiplexers is ensured by information with two binary elements conveyed by shift registers 90 in cascade. This information with two binary elements is produced for each frame by a counter 91 which divides the number of clock strokes by 40. The advance is ensured by a clock (not shown) which provides one stroke for four clock strokes 87
  • the other elementary electronics circuits can be relatively conventional and include a delay correction reception circuit 62 (constituted for example by a multiple tap delay line) and a processing circuit. of the signal 25 attacking a display or storage system 57.
  • the device according to the invention is directly transposable from any existing system with electronic focusing and scanning, at the cost of a simple modification of the law of variation of the delay or of the phase shift; it uses a reduced number of different delays or phase shifts; sector scanning is obtained in a perfectly natural way thanks to the shape of the probe.
  • the difference in density of the scanning lines between the surface area and the deep area of the organ to be explored is reduced, because there is no convergence of a beam at the point of entry into the organ.
  • the acoustic field produced by the device according to the invention does not depend on the angle of observation relative to the median plane.
  • experience shows that the convex shape of the probe does not constitute a handicap for good contact with the skin.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Investigating Or Analyzing Materials By The Use Of Ultrasonic Waves (AREA)
  • Ultra Sonic Daignosis Equipment (AREA)
  • Measurement Of Velocity Or Position Using Acoustic Or Ultrasonic Waves (AREA)

Claims (4)

  1. Ultraschall-Echographie-Vorrichtung, zur Benutzung in Kontakt mit der Haut, zur Untersuchung eines Organes oder einer inneren anatomischen Struktur, bestehend aus:
    - einer Sonde mit einem linearen Netz von N identischen Elementar-Transduktoren (12₁, ..., 12N), die in gleichen Abständen entlang einer kreisförmigen Abtastlinie verteilt sind, deren Konvexität dem zu untersuchenden Organ oder der zu untersuchenden anatomischen Struktur zugewandt ist;
    - Verzögerungsmitteln (15), die es erlauben, auf a unterschiedlichen Wegen, ausgehend von einem selben Impuls, der von Ausstrahlungsmitteln ausgestrahlt ist, a Impulse zu liefern, die um die Zeit τ und Vielfachem von τ verzögert sind;
    - Mitteln (37), um zumindest eine Verteilung von Verzögerungen unter den a Verzögerungen auf n aufeinanderfolgende Transduktoren (wobei n kleiner ist als N) zu speichern, wobei diese Verzögerungen den Unterschieden zwischen den Laufzeiten der verschiedenen Transduktoren bei einer Untersuchung in bestimmter Entfernung entsprechen;
    - Kommutatormitteln (34,35,82), die es erlauben, temporär eine Gruppe von n Transduktoren mit den Verzögerungsmitteln oder Empfangsmitteln (62) von Signalen mit Verzögerungen entsprechend der gespeicherten Verteilung zu verbinden und die Gruppe der n Transduktoren derart zu verschieben, um eine sektorielle Abtastung um die Achse der Kreislinie herum zu realisieren, die außerhalb des zu untersuchenden Organes oder der zu untersuchenden anatomischen Struktur angeordnet ist;
    - wobei die Verteilung von Verzögerungen vorgesehen ist, um eine Untersuchung entlang des zu dem Mittelpunkt der betrachteten Gruppe von n Transduktoren korrespondierenden Radiusses zu gewährleisten in einem bestimmten Abstand zu dem Inneren des zu untersuchenden Organes oder der zu untersuchenden anatomischen Struktur und zu dem Äußeren der Kreislinie, und
    - wobei die Kommutatormittel umfassen
       n erste Multiplexoren (34), die es jeder erlauben, temporär einen der a Wege mit einem Eingang/Ausgang-Zugang des Multiplexors zu verbinden, und
       n zweite Multiplexoren (81,82), wovon jeder zwischen den Zugang eines entsprechenden ersten Multiplexors und mehrere der N Transduktoren, die von n versetzt sind, zwischengesetzt ist, wobei jeder zweite Multiplexor es erlaubt, einen einzigen Transduktor mit dem entsprechenden ersten Multiplexor während der für eine Ausstrahlung und den entsprechenden Empfang notwendigen Zeit zu verbinden.
  2. Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß jeder der zweiten Multiplexoren ein Ausstrahlungselement (81), das die direkte Verbindung zwischen dem Zugang und einem Transduktor sicherstellt, und ein Empfangselement (82), das die Verbindung über einen Vorverstärker (33) zwischen dem Transduktor und dem Zugang des ersten Multiplexors (34) sicherstellt, umfaßt und dadurch, daß die Elemente durch mit den Ausstrahlungsmitteln derart synchronisierte Mittel (88,89) gesteuert sind, daß sie das Ausstrahlungselement während der Empfangsperiode blockieren und umgekehrt.
  3. Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 1 oder 2, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die zur Verbindung der Transduktoren bestimmten Mittel Verstärker, die jeder mit einem Transduktor (12i) verbunden sind, steuern, ausgehend von dem auf dem passenden, durch die Speichermittel (37) ausgewählten Weg in Erscheinung getretenen Impuls.
  4. Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 2 oder 3, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß sie aus einem einzigen Satz von n ersten Multiplexoren und mehreren Sätzen von zweiten Multiplexoren und von Elementen zur Ausstrahlung/Empfang, jedes an einen unterschiedlichen Sondentyp angepaßt, und elektronischen Kommutationsmitteln besteht, die es erlauben, den einen oder den anderen der Sätze entsprechend der benutzten Sonde zu gebrauchen.
EP82401291A 1981-07-08 1982-07-08 Vorrichtung für Ultraschall-Echographie zur Sektorabtastung Expired - Lifetime EP0069677B2 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR8113445A FR2509486A1 (fr) 1981-07-08 1981-07-08 Sonde d'echographie ultra-sonore et dispositif d'echographie a balayage sectoriel
FR8113445 1981-07-08

Publications (3)

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EP0069677A1 EP0069677A1 (de) 1983-01-12
EP0069677B1 EP0069677B1 (de) 1986-09-10
EP0069677B2 true EP0069677B2 (de) 1995-12-13

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US (1) US4516583A (de)
EP (1) EP0069677B2 (de)
DE (1) DE3273181D1 (de)
FR (1) FR2509486A1 (de)

Families Citing this family (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4576045A (en) * 1983-12-29 1986-03-18 General Electric Company Wide aperture ultrasonic scanner employing convex transducer array
US4582065A (en) * 1984-06-28 1986-04-15 Picker International, Inc. Ultrasonic step scanning utilizing unequally spaced curvilinear transducer array
US4809184A (en) * 1986-10-22 1989-02-28 General Electric Company Method and apparatus for fully digital beam formation in a phased array coherent imaging system
US5262836A (en) * 1991-12-19 1993-11-16 Hughes Aircraft Company Coherent double homodyne optical backscatter filter
US5301674A (en) * 1992-03-27 1994-04-12 Diasonics, Inc. Method and apparatus for focusing transmission and reception of ultrasonic beams
US5379642A (en) * 1993-07-19 1995-01-10 Diasonics Ultrasound, Inc. Method and apparatus for performing imaging
NO308264B1 (no) * 1994-03-22 2000-08-21 Western Atlas Int Inc Brønnloggesonde med tilnærmet sylindrisk oppstilling av piezo- elektriske akustiske transdusere for elektronisk styring og fokusering av akustiske signaler
US7617732B2 (en) * 2005-08-26 2009-11-17 The Boeing Company Integrated curved linear ultrasonic transducer inspection apparatus, systems, and methods
US20070034011A1 (en) * 2005-07-25 2007-02-15 Pai-Chi Li Method and apparatus for dynamic focusing in ultrasonic imaging
GB201020249D0 (en) * 2010-11-30 2011-01-12 Airbus Uk Ltd Ultrasonic array focussing apparatus and method

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2064588C3 (de) * 1970-12-30 1978-09-21 Fried. Krupp Gmbh, 4300 Essen Schaltanordnung zum Abstrahlen von Sendeenergie in einen vorgegebenen Sektor
FR2292978A1 (fr) * 1974-11-28 1976-06-25 Anvar Perfectionnements aux dispositifs de sondage par ultra-sons
JPS52131679A (en) * 1976-04-28 1977-11-04 Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co Ultrasonic diagnostic device
US4165647A (en) * 1978-05-12 1979-08-28 International Submarine Services Scan acoustical holographic apparatus and method
US4208916A (en) * 1978-09-13 1980-06-24 Picker Corporation Electronic ultrasonic sector scanning apparatus and method
US4233678A (en) * 1979-03-12 1980-11-11 The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy Serial phase shift beamformer using charge transfer devices
JPS5615734A (en) * 1979-07-20 1981-02-16 Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co Ultrasonic diagnosing device
US4344327B1 (en) * 1979-12-28 1994-05-03 Aloka Co Ltd Electronic scanning ultrasonic diagnostic system
FR2472753A1 (fr) * 1979-12-31 1981-07-03 Anvar Perfectionnements aux dispositifs de sondage par ultra-sons
US4319489A (en) * 1980-03-28 1982-03-16 Yokogawa Electric Works, Ltd. Ultrasonic diagnostic method and apparatus
US4409982A (en) * 1980-10-20 1983-10-18 Picker Corporation Ultrasonic step scanning utilizing curvilinear transducer array

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US4516583A (en) 1985-05-14
EP0069677A1 (de) 1983-01-12
FR2509486A1 (fr) 1983-01-14
EP0069677B1 (de) 1986-09-10
DE3273181D1 (en) 1986-10-16
FR2509486B1 (de) 1985-05-24

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