Methods for acquisition and display in ultrasound imaging

Abstract

In general, the invention provides methods for use in the acquisition and display of ultrasound images. In particular, the invention provides methods for displaying ultrasound images using gating of ultrasound acquisition based on subject respiration and/or triggering ultrasound acquisition based on subject ECG. The methods may be employed with any suitable ultrasound system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for ultrasound signal acquisition for ultrasound imaging, comprising:
 acquiring a respiration signal from a subject;   determining a start of a respiration cycle in the respiration signal;   setting a valid zone based on the start of the respiration cycle and user defined offset and/or duration;   acquiring a plurality of frames of ultrasound;   discarding one or more frames of the plurality of frames acquired outside the valid zone; and   outputting one or more remaining frames of the plurality of frames acquired inside the valid zone.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein acquiring the plurality of frames of ultrasound comprises acquiring the plurality of frames at an acquisition rate of at least 200 frames per second. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein each of the acquired plurality of frames are time-stamped to indicate when each frame is acquired. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein acquiring the respiration signal comprises receiving one or more electrical signals from one or more ECG electrodes on the subject. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the one or more ECG electrodes are configured to be disposed in and/or on one or more foot pads on the subject. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the one or more ECG electrodes are configured to detect muscular resistance in the subject. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the valid zone comprises a period of time during which motion of the subject due to breathing has substantially stopped. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein acquiring the respiration signal comprises receiving one or more electrical signals from a pneumatic cushion configured to be disposed under the subject. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the subject is a small animal. 
     
     
         10 . A method for ultrasound signal acquisition for ultrasound imaging, comprising:
 acquiring, at a host computer, an ECG signal from a subject;   acquiring, at the host computer, a respiration signal from the subject;   identifying, at the host computer, an R-wave point in the ECG signal;   determining, at the host computer, a trigger point threshold and a trigger slope based on the R-wave point;   transferring the trigger point threshold and the trigger slope to a programmable logic device; and   triggering, by the programmable logic device, the acquisition of ultrasound based on the trigger point threshold and the trigger slope.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein triggering based on the trigger point threshold and the trigger slope is used to acquire a cineloop that starts at a specified point in a cardiac cycle and runs for a specified number of cardiac cycles. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  wherein triggering based on the trigger point threshold and the trigger slope is used to acquire one or more of B-Mode data, Color Doppler Mode data, Power Doppler Mode data, Contrast Mode data, and 3D Mode data. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising:
 determining a start of a respiration cycle in the respiration signal; 
 setting a valid zone based on the start of the respiration cycle and user defined offset and/or duration; 
 discarding ultrasound acquired outside the valid zone during the triggering; and 
 outputting ultrasound acquired inside the valid zone during the triggering. 
 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein ultrasound is acquired at a rate of at least 200 frames per second. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13  wherein ultrasound frames are time-stamped to indicate when each frame is acquired. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the determining comprises receiving a user defined offset from the R-Wave point. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the programmable logic device is configured to receive a user-specified delay time, and wherein the programmable logic device is configured to delay the triggering by the delay time. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the subject is a small animal. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 10  wherein acquiring the ECG signal from the subject comprises filtering the ECG signal with a pass band filter having a frequency range from about 100 Hz to about 200 Hz.