Position correlated ultrasonic imaging

Abstract

An imaging apparatus includes a transducer, a detecting device and a processor. The transducer includes an emitter and receiver configured to detect a property of an object being scanned at a scanning location. The detecting device is configured to detect a position of the transducer relative to the object being scanned. The processor is configured to obtain, from the transducer, scan information representative of the property when the transducer is positioned at a first position; obtain, form the detecting device, position information representative of the position of the transducer relative to the object being scanned when the transducer is disposed in the first position; determine a coordinate location from the position information; associate the coordinate location with the scan information; and cause the coordinate location associated with the scan information to be stored in a storage.

1 . An imaging apparatus, comprising:
 a transducer including an emitter and receiver configured to detect a property of an object being scanned at a scanning location;   a detecting device configured to detect a position of the transducer relative to the object being scanned; and   a processor configured to
 obtain, from the transducer, scan information representative of the property when the transducer is positioned at a first position; 
 obtain, form the detecting device, position information representative of the position of the transducer relative to the object being scanned when the transducer is disposed in the first position; 
 determine a coordinate location from the position information; 
 associate the coordinate location with the scan information; and 
 cause the coordinate location associated with the scan information to be stored in a storage. 
   
     
     
         2 . The imaging apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to
 obtain, from the transducer, a plurality of scan information representative of properties when the transducer is respectively positioned at a plurality of positions position;   obtain, form the detecting device, a plurality of position information respectively representative of the position of the transducer relative to the object being scanned when the transducer is respectively disposed in the plurality of positions;   determine a plurality of coordinate locations respectively from the plurality of position information;   associate a plurality of coordinate locations respectively with the plurality of scan information; and   cause the coordinate locations respectively associated with the scan information to be stored in a storage.   
     
     
         3 . The imaging apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of positions are not on a line. 
     
     
         4 . The imaging apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the detecting device includes a camera. 
     
     
         5 . The imaging apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein
 the detecting device includes at least two cameras, and   the cameras have focal axis rotated with respect to each other and the object.   
     
     
         6 . The imaging apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein
 the transducer includes indicia that is detectable by the detecting device, and   the detecting device is configured to identify the indicia.   
     
     
         7 . The imaging apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the indicia includes an ultraviolet or infrared marker. 
     
     
         8 . The imaging apparatus of  claim 6 , further comprising a projector that projects the indicia onto the transducer or the object. 
     
     
         9 . The imaging apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a calibration marker disposed on the object, wherein the detecting device is configured to detect the position of the transducer relative to the object being scanned based on the detected calibration marker. 
     
     
         10 . An imaging apparatus, comprising:
 an ultrasonic transducer including at least one of a point probe and an array probe and configured to scan a body;   at least one camera configured to capture images of the transducer and the body; and   a processor configured to determine a position of the ultrasonic transducer with respect to the body and correlate the position with scan data from the transducer.   
     
     
         11 . The imaging apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one camera includes at least two cameras, and the processor is configured to determine the position of the transducer in three dimensions. 
     
     
         12 . The imaging apparatus of  claim 11 , further comprising an inertial measurement unit, wherein
 the processor is configured to determine the position based at least in part on measurements of the inertial measurement unit,   the processor is configured to determine a calibration of the inertial measurement unit based at least in part on the images of the at least one camera, and   the processor is configured to periodically determine the calibration of the inertial measurement unit based at least in part on the images of the at least one camera.   
     
     
         13 . An imaging apparatus, comprising:
 the imaging apparatus of  claim 10 ; and   a server communicatively coupled with the imaging device, wherein   the imaging device is configured to provide correlated position and scan data to the server,   the server is configured to process the correlated position and scan data, the processing including executing a pattern recognition process with a database of scan data, and   the server is configured to provide a result of the pattern recognition process to the imaging device.   
     
     
         14 . The imaging apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the scan data includes time sequenced impedance measurements. 
     
     
         15 . A method of imaging, comprising:
 performing an ultrasonic scan of an object using an ultrasonic transducer to provide scan data;   determining a location of the transducer using an optical system;   correlating the scan data and the location of the transducer;   determining a two or three dimensional representation of the scan data;   displaying the representation of the scan data on a display at a location associated with the determined location of the transducer;   freely moving the ultrasonic transducer to a different location on the object;   performing an ultrasonic scan of the object using the ultrasonic transducer to provide second scan data;   determining a location of the moved transducer using the optical system;   correlating the second scan data and the location of the moved transducer;   determining a two or three dimensional representation of the second scan data; and   displaying the representation of the second scan data on a display at a location associated with the determined location of the moved transducer.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising determining movement of the transducer using an inertial measurement unit. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein at least one of the determining the location steps includes determining the location based at least in part on data of the inertial measurement unit. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising comparing the scan data with scan data of a different scan. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  18 , wherein
 the different scan is a scan of the object at a different point in time, or   the different scan is a scan of a different object.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising determining differences between the scan data and scan data of the different scan to detect changes in the object over time.