Patent ID: 6682488
Filing Date: 2004-01-27
Classification: A61B,B06B,G01S

Abstract:
A method for ultrasonic imaging of a volume of a subject using a piezoelectric probe consisting essentially of a two-dimensional thinned array of piezoelectric elements with progressive element sizing and an ultrasonic imaging device comprising:a) transmitting a pulse of electrical energy at an ultrasonic frequency to at least a portion of the piezoelectric elements in a preselected order; b) receiving a plurality of individual acoustic echo signals, one from each element of the array of piezoelectric elements subsequent to the pulsing of each element; c) digitally analyzing and storing each of the acoustic signals until each element of the portion of piezoelectric elements has been pulsed, as a file of stored pulse data; and d) analyzing the data to produce the ultrasonic image; each echo signal containing Doppler frequency shift information related to the flow of a particulate fluid in the volume of the subject and the file of stored pulse data is analyzed by the ultrasonic imaging device to produce information related to the flow of the particulate fluid.