Method and system for ultrasound data processing

Abstract

Methods and systems for ultrasound data processing are provided. One method includes acquiring channel ultrasound data from a plurality of channel connected to a plurality of elements of an ultrasound probe and storing the channel ultrasound data from the plurality of channels. The method further includes generating ultrasound images based on processing of the acquired channel ultrasound data and displaying the ultrasound images. The method also includes performing additional processing on the stored channel ultrasound data while the ultrasound images are displayed and displaying updated ultrasound images generated by the additional processing.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for forming images from ultrasound data, the method comprising:
 acquiring channel ultrasound data from a plurality of channels connected to a plurality of elements of an ultrasound probe;   generating first ultrasound images by processing the channel ultrasound data, wherein the processing comprises performing a basic beamforming technique on at least a subset of the channel ultrasound data, wherein said generating the first ultrasound images is performed concurrently with the acquisition of the channel ultrasound data;   displaying the first ultrasound images in real-time during the acquisition of the channel ultrasound data;   storing the channel ultrasound data from the plurality of channels;   performing additional processing on the stored channel ultrasound data post-acquisition, where the additional processing comprises performing an advanced beamforming technique on the stored channel ultrasound data, where the advanced beamforming technique is more advanced than the basic beamforming technique; and   generating and displaying updated ultrasound images based at least in part on the additional processing on the stored channel ultrasound data, and where the updated ultrasound images have a higher image quality or resolution as compared to the first ultrasound images.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said performing the additional processing on the stored channel ultrasound data comprises performing the advanced beamforming technique on the subset of the channel ultrasound data. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the subset of channel ultrasound data comprises a first plurality of image frames and generating the first ultrasound images comprises processing the first plurality of image frames, and wherein performing the additional processing comprises processing a second plurality of image frames that were not previously processed when generating the first ultrasound images. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein said generating and displaying updated images comprises incrementally displaying updated ultrasound images based on the additional processing performed using the second plurality of image frames. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said performing the basic beamforming technique on at least the subset of the channel ultrasound data results in the generation of first beamformed channel data, wherein said performing the advanced beamforming technique on the stored channel ultrasound data results in the generation of second beamformed channel data, and wherein said generating and displaying updated ultrasound images comprises generating and displaying updated ultrasound images using both the first beamformed channel data and the second beamformed channel data. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the updated ultrasound images are displayed at a higher frame rate than the first ultrasound images. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the basic beamforming technique comprises B-mode processing and the advanced beamforming technique is selected from a group consisting of: color processing, Doppler processing, B-flow processing, strain processing, and M-mode processing 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the advanced beamforming technique comprises an increased multi-line acquisition (MLA) compared to the basic beamforming technique. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the advanced beamforming technique is performed on the stored ultrasound channel data during an image freeze mode. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the advanced beamforming technique is performed on the stored ultrasound channel data during display of cine images. 
     
     
         11 . A method for forming images from ultrasound data, the method comprising:
 acquiring channel ultrasound data from a plurality of channels connected to a plurality of elements of an ultrasound probe;   generating a pixel image by processing the channel ultrasound data, wherein the processing comprises performing a basic beamforming technique on at least a subset of the channel ultrasound data, wherein said generating the pixel image is performed concurrently with the acquisition of the channel ultrasound data;   displaying the pixel image in real-time during the acquisition of the channel ultrasound data;   storing the channel ultrasound data from the plurality of channels;   performing additional processing on the stored channel ultrasound data, where the additional processing comprises performing an advanced beamforming technique on the stored channel ultrasound data, where the advanced beamforming technique is more advanced than the basic beamforming technique; and   generating and displaying an updated ultrasound image based at least in part on the additional processing on the stored channel ultrasound data, and where the updated ultrasound image has a higher image quality or resolution as compared to the pixel image.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein said additional processing on the stored channel ultrasound is performed post-acquisition. 
     
     
         13 . A method for forming images from ultrasound data, the method comprising:
 acquiring channel ultrasound data from a plurality of channels connected to a plurality of elements of an ultrasound probe;   generating first ultrasound images by processing the channel ultrasound data, wherein the processing comprises performing a basic beamforming technique on at least a subset of the channel ultrasound data;   displaying the first ultrasound images during the acquisition of the channel ultrasound data;   storing the channel ultrasound data from the plurality of channels;   performing additional processing on the stored channel ultrasound data after the generation and display of the first ultrasound images, where the additional processing comprises performing an advanced beamforming technique on the stored channel ultrasound data, where the advanced beamforming technique is more advanced than the basic beamforming technique and requires more processing resources than the basic beamforming technique; and   generating and displaying updated ultrasound images based at least in part on the additional processing on the stored channel ultrasound data, and where the updated ultrasound images have a higher image quality or resolution as compared to the first ultrasound images.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said performing the additional processing on the stored channel ultrasound data comprises performing the advanced beamforming technique on the subset of the channel ultrasound data. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the subset of the channel ultrasound data comprises a first plurality of image frames and generating the first ultrasound images comprises processing the first plurality of image frames, and wherein performing the additional processing comprises processing a second plurality of image frames that were not previously processed when generating the first ultrasound images. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein said generating and displaying updated images comprises incrementally displaying updated ultrasound images based on the additional processing performed using the second plurality of image frames. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said performing the basic beamforming technique on at least the subset of the channel ultrasound data results in the generation of first beamformed channel data, wherein said performing the advanced beamforming technique on the stored channel ultrasound data results in the generation of second beamformed channel data, and wherein said generating and displaying updated ultrasound images comprises generating and displaying updated ultrasound images using both the first beamformed channel data and the second beamformed channel data. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said performing the advanced beamforming technique is performed after the acquisition of the channel ultrasound data. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said performing the advanced beamforming technique is performed during the acquisition of the channel data. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein said displaying the updated ultrasound images comprises generating the updated ultrasound images using both the subset of the channel ultrasound data and additional stored channel ultrasound data acquired after the subset of the channel ultrasound data.