Ultrasonic signal processor for a hand held ultrasonic diagnostic instrument

Abstract

A hand held ultrasonic instrument is provided in a portable unit which performs both B mode and Doppler imaging. The instrument includes a transducer array mounted in a hand-held enclosure, with an integrated circuit transceiver connected to the elements of the array for the reception of echo signals. A digital signal processing circuit performs both B mode and Doppler signal processing such as filtering, detection and Doppler estimation, as well as advanced functions such as assembly of multiple zone focused scanlines, synthetic aperture formation, depth dependent filtering, speckle reduction, flash suppression, and frame averaging.

1 - 19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . An ultrasound system comprising:
 a hand-held transducer enclosure having-   an array transducer having a plurality of transducer elements,   a sampled data beamformer configured to delay and combine samples of echo signals received by the transducer elements of the array transducer and generate beam-formed signals,   one or more user controls configured to accept input from a user, and   a processor coupled to the one or more user controls and configured to direct operations of the ultrasound system based on user input received from the one or more user controls; and   a display configured to output an ultrasound image based on the beam-formed signals and user input signals received from the processor.   
     
     
         21 . The ultrasound system of  claim 20  wherein the one or more user controls include at least one of a joystick, a mouse ball, a track pad, and a button. 
     
     
         22 . The ultrasound system of  claim 20  wherein the one or more user controls includes a button positioned on an exterior surface of the transducer enclosure. 
     
     
         23 . The ultrasound system of  claim 20  wherein the one or more user controls include a user control configured to maneuver a cursor on the display. 
     
     
         24 . The ultrasound system of  claim 20  wherein the one or more user controls include a user control configured to receive entry of patient data from a user. 
     
     
         25 . The ultrasound system of  claim 20  wherein the one or more user controls include a user control configured to have a first functionality when a user selects a first application and a second functionality when the user selects a second application. 
     
     
         26 . The ultrasound system of  claim 20  wherein the one or more user controls include a user control configured to freeze the ultrasound image on the display. 
     
     
         27 . The ultrasound system of  claim 20  wherein the one or more user controls include a user control configured to store the ultrasound image on the display. 
     
     
         28 . The ultrasound system of  claim 20 , further comprising a cable connecting the transducer enclosure to the display, wherein the cable is configured to transmit power to the transducer enclosure. 
     
     
         29 . The ultrasound system of  claim 28  wherein the display includes a battery pack, and wherein the cable is configured to transmit power from the battery pack to the transducer enclosure. 
     
     
         30 . The ultrasound system of  claim 28  wherein the cable is configured to propagate a video signal between the transducer enclosure and the display. 
     
     
         31 . The ultrasound system of  claim 28  wherein the cable is configured to transmit signals from the processor to the display. 
     
     
         32 . The ultrasound system of  claim 20  wherein the transducer enclosure and the display have a combined weight less than five pounds.