Abstract:
An ultrasound imaging system includes a probe with a transducer array with at least one transducer element that transmits ultrasound signal and receives echo signals produced in response thereto. The system further includes a console with a controller that controls the at least one element to transmit the ultrasound signals and receive the echo signals, and an echo processor that processes the received echoes and generates images indicative thereof. The system further includes a user interface with at least one control for interacting with the console. The user interface includes at least one recessed physical feature that facilitates identifying, through sense of touch, an operation activated by the at least one control.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The following generally relates to an ultrasound imaging system. 
     BACKGROUND 
     An ultrasound (US) imaging system has included an ultrasound probe with a transducer, a console with an internal or external display, and a keyboard. The transducer transmits an ultrasound signal into a field of view and receives echoes produced in response to the signal interacting with structure therein. The echoes are processed by the console, which generates images indicative of the structure that are visually presented in the display region. 
     An example of a suitable display region includes a screen (e.g., LCD, CRT, etc.) with a cover lens (e.g. made of glass). The cover lens provides a surface that is relatively easy to clean. Shattering of the cover lens can be mitigated through a bonding material applied between the cover lens and the screen. However, the cover lens adds at least two surface transitions, an air to cover lens transition and a cover lens to air transition. Unfortunately, both the air to cover lens transition and the cover lens to air transition produce reflections, which may deteriorate the optical perception of the visually presented image. Furthermore, the distance between the touch screen display and the cover lens may result in a parallax that decreases the accuracy of activation of the individual buttons on the touch screen display. 
     An example of a suitable keyboard includes a keyboard with a coherent, flat surface, without any holes, for example, a “touch screen” display with a cover lens. Unfortunately, the distance between the cover lens and the screen may deteriorate the optical perception of the visually presented image and may result in a parallax that decreases the accuracy of activation of the individual buttons on the “touch screen” display. Likewise, the cover lens provides a surface that is relatively easy to clean. Unfortunately, with such a keyboard, it may not be easy for a clinician to navigate an image while observing the image without looking away from the image in the display region and looking at the keyboard to locate and activate touch screen controls. 
     SUMMARY 
     Aspects of the application address the above matters, and others. 
     In one aspect, an ultrasound imaging system includes a probe with a transducer array with at least one transducer element that transmits ultrasound signal and receives echo signals produced in response thereto. The system further includes a console with a controller that controls the at least one element to transmit the ultrasound signals and receive the echo signals and an echo processor that processes the received echoes and generates images indicative thereof. The system further includes a user interface with at least one control for interacting with the console. The user interface includes at least one recessed physical feature that facilitates identifying, through sense of touch, an operation activated by the at least one control. 
     In another aspect, an ultrasound imaging system includes a probe with a transducer array with at least one transducer element that transmits ultrasound signal and receives echo signals produced in response thereto. The system further includes a console with a controller that controls the at least one element to transmit the ultrasound signals and receive the echo signals and an echo processor that processes the received echoes and generates images indicative thereof. The system further includes a display region with a screen, a cover lens and an optical coupling there between. A refractive index of the optical coupling is approximately the same of a refractive index of the cover lens and a refractive index of the screen. 
     In another aspect, a method includes providing an ultrasound console, interfacing a user interface with the ultrasound console, interfacing a display region with the ultrasound console and interfacing a transducer probe with the ultrasound console, and using the transducer probe to scan an object or subject under control of the console, wherein an operator of the system controls at least one operation via the user interface and generated images are displayed via the display region. The user interface includes at least one control for interacting with the console, wherein the user interface includes at least one recessed physical feature that facilitates identifying, through sense of touch, an operation activated by the at least one control, and the display region includes a screen, a cover lens and an optical coupling there between, wherein a refractive index of the optical coupling is approximately the same of a refractive index of the cover lens and a refractive index of the screen. 
     Those skilled in the art will recognize still other aspects of the present application upon reading and understanding the attached description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The application is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which: 
         FIG. 1  schematically illustrates an example imaging system, including a user interface and a display region; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an example of the user interface, which includes at least one control of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an example of a first recessed control of the user interface of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an example of a second recessed control of the user interface of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an example of a third recessed control of the user interface of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates the user interface of  FIG. 2 , with the controls of  FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 . 
         FIG. 7  illustrates an example of the display region of  FIG. 1  with a cover lens optically bonded to a screen and external light traversing the display region; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates an example of the display region of  FIG. 1  with a cover lens optically bonded to a screen with light emitted by the screen and traversing the display region; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates a variation of the display region of  FIG. 7  with the optical bond omitted therefrom; 
         FIG. 10  illustrates a variation of the display region of  FIG. 8  with the optical bond omitted therefrom; and 
         FIG. 11  illustrates an example method in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  schematically illustrates an ultrasound (US) imaging system  102 . 
     The system  102  includes a probe  104  with a one-dimensional (1D) or two-dimensional (2D) transducer array  106  with at least one transducer element  108 . Suitable configurations include, but are not limited to, linear, curved (e.g., concave, convex, etc.), circular, etc. 
     The system  102  includes an ultrasound scanner console  110  that controls excitation of the probe  104 , receives and processes ultrasound data from the probe  104 , and generates images to display. 
     The system  102  includes a user interface  112  with at least one control for interacting with the console  110 . As described in greater detail below, in one non-limiting instance, the user interface  122  includes at least one recessed physical feature that facilitates identifying, through sense of touch (or haptics), an operation activated by the at least one control. 
     The system  102  includes at least one display region  114  that displays images generated by the console  110 . As described in greater detail below, in one non-limiting instance, the display region  124  includes a screen with a cover lens optically bonded thereto, which may improve image quality relative to a configuration in which the optical bonding is omitted. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a top down view looking into an example of the user interface  122 . 
     The illustrated user interface  122  includes a flat touch panel  202 , in which predetermined regions thereof evoke actions in response to being actuated by simple or multi-touch gestures of the screen with one or more fingers, a stylus, a glove, etc. Suitable touchscreen panels includes, but are not limited to, resistive, projected capacitive, surface acoustic wave, infrared, optical, or piezoelectric. 
     The touchscreen can be, but is not limited to, a screen (e.g., liquid crystal display (LCD), thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT LCD), organic light-emitting diode (OLED) etc.) with a cover lens (e.g. made of glass) optically bonded thereto, which may mitigate parallax relative to a configuration in which the optical bonding is omitted. 
     The illustrated touch panel  202  further includes a plurality of touch sensitive controls  204 . In the illustrated example, the touch sensitive controls  204  include N sets of controls  206   1 ,  206   2 , . . . ,  206   N , collectively referred to herein as sets of controls  206 , where N is an integer equal to or greater than one. 
     The first set of controls  206   1  includes M controls  208   1 , . . . ,  208   M , (collectively referred to as controls  208 ), where M is an integer equal to or greater than one. The second set of controls  206   2  includes L controls  210   1 , . . . ,  210   L , (collectively referred to as controls  210 ), where L is an integer equal to or greater than one. The third set of controls  206   N  includes K controls  212   1 , . . . ,  212   K , (collectively referred to as controls  212 ), where K is an integer equal to or greater than one. 
     As described herein, the user interface  122  includes at least one recessed physical feature that facilitates identifying, through sense of touch, an operation activated by the N sets of controls  206   1 ,  206   2 , . . . ,  206   N . With respect to  FIG. 2 , the user interface  122  includes a recessed physical feature in connection with each of the of touch sensitive controls  204 . This is shown in greater detail in  FIGS. 3, 4 and 5  respectively in connection with the N sets of controls  206   1 ,  206   2 , . . . ,  206   N . 
     Initially referring to  FIG. 3 , a cross sectional view of the touch panel  202  and the control  208   1  along line A-A of  FIG. 2  is illustrated. 
     The touch panel  202  has a thickness  302  and a major surface  304 . The control  208   1  has a thickness  306  (which is less than the thickness  302  of the touch panel  202 ), a flat recess surface  308  and a diameter  310 , and is located in a recess  312  in the major surface  304 . A transition surface  314  extends from the major surface  304  into the touch panel  202  to the flat recess surface  308 , forming the recess  312 . 
     With the configuration of  FIG. 3 , the at least one recessed physical feature includes the transition surface  314  and the flat recess surface  308 . The transition surface  314  and the flat recess surface  308  facilitate identifying a location of the control  208   1  and the flat recess surface  308  identifies the control  208   1 . For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the transition surface  314  and the flat recess surface  308  facilitates identifying the control  208   1  as a touch pad area. As discussed herein, the touch pad area can be used to control a cursor displayed in the display region  124 , for example, cursor movement. 
     Turning to  FIG. 4 , a cross sectional view of the touch panel  202  and the control  210   1  along line B-B of  FIG. 2  is illustrated. Again, the touch panel  202  has the thickness  302  and the major surface  304 . 
     The control  210   1  includes a first recess  402 , which is located in the major surface  304 , and a second recess  404 , which is located in the first recess  402 . The first recess  402  has a first thickness  406  (which is less than the thickness  302  of the touch panel  202 ), a first recess surface  408 , and a first protrusion  410 . The second recess  404  has a second thickness  412  (which is less than the first thickness  406  of the first recess  402 ) and a second recess surface  414 . 
     A first transition  416  extends from the major surface  304  into the touch panel  202  to the first recess surface  408 , forming the first recess  402 . The protrusion  410  is located in the first recess  402 , spaced apart from the first transition surfaces  416  by a non-zero distance. A second transition surface  418  extends from the first recess  402  further into the touch panel  202  to the second recess surface  414 , forming the second recess  404 . 
     With the configuration of  FIG. 4 , the at least one recessed physical feature includes the first transition  416  and the protrusion  410 , which facilitate identifying a location of a first sub-control of the control  210   1  and, in particular, a rotary or other control, which is located in the first recess  402 , between the first transition  416  and the protrusion  410 . The rotary control is actuated by sliding an object on the first recess surface  408 . 
     The at least one recessed physical feature further includes the second transition  418 , which facilitates identifying a location of a second sub-control of the control  210   1  and, in particular, a push button or other control, which is located in the second recess  404 , within the second transition  418 . The push button control is actuated by pushing down on the second recess surface  414 . 
     The illustrated control  210   1  is a multi-function control. The illustrated control  210   1  includes two sub-controls; however, in another embodiment, the control  210   1  includes more than two sub-controls. 
     Next at  FIG. 5 , a cross sectional view of the touch panel  202  and the control  212   1  along line C-C of  FIG. 2  is illustrated. Again, the touch panel  202  has the thickness  302  and the major surface  304 . 
     The control  212   1  includes a first recess  502 , which is located in the major surface  304 , and a second recess  504 , which is located in the first recess  502 . The first recess  502  has a first thickness  506  (which is less than the thickness  302  of the touch panel  202 ) and a first recess surface  508 , and the second recess  504  has a second thickness  510  (which is less than the first thickness  506  of the first recess  502 ) and a second recess surface  512 . 
     A first transition  514   s  extend from the major surface  304  into the touch panel  202  to the first recess surface  508 , forming the first recess  502 . A second transition surface  516  extends from the first recess  502  further into the touch panel  202  to the second recess surface  512 , forming the second recess  504 . 
     With the configuration of  FIG. 5 , the at least one recessed physical feature includes the first transition  514 , the first recess surface  508 , the second transition  516 , and the second recess surface  512  of the second recess  504 , which facilitate identifying a location of the control  212   1  and, in particular, a push button or other control, which is located in the second recess  504 , within the second transition  516 . The push button control is actuated by pushing down on the second recess surface  512 . 
       FIG. 6  illustrates the top down view of  FIG. 2 , in which the N sets of controls  206   1 ,  206   2 , . . . ,  206   N  are configured as discussed in connection with  FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 . However, it is to be appreciated that the sets of controls  206   1 ,  206   2 , . . . ,  206   N  can include more or less controls and/or similar or different controls. Furthermore, the illustrated geometry of the controls in non-limiting. For example, other shapes (e.g., elliptical, rectangular, etc.) and/or relative sizes are contemplated herein. 
     Moreover, the N sets of controls  206   1 ,  206   2 , . . . ,  206   N  may include textured surfaces. For example, the rotary or other control of the sets of controls  206   2  may include roughness, which facilitates sliding a finger along the surface and mitigating having the finger stick to the surface. Likewise, one of more of the other sets of controls  206   1 ,  206   2 , . . . ,  206   N  may or may not have roughness. 
       FIGS. 7 and 8  illustrate an example of the display region  114  of the console  110  and/or an example of the user interface  112 . 
     The display region  114  includes a screen  704  with a cover lens  702 . The screen  704  and the cover lens  702  are coupled via an optical coupling  706 . The optical coupling  706  has a refractive index that substantially matches a refractive index of the screen  704  and the cover lens  702 . For example, wherein the refractive index of the screen  704  is approximately 1.5 and the refractive index of the cover lens  702  is approximately 1.5, a suitable refractive index of the optical coupling  706  is 1.5. 
     The screen  704  can be a LCD, a TFT-LCD, an OLED, and/or other screen. The material  706  can be a liquid, a gas, a gel, a glue (e.g., silicon or other), a laminate, a plastic, a foil, and/or other optical coupling with suitable optical properties, that is, for matching the refractive index of the screen  704  and/or cover lens  702 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , external light  708  traverses the cover lens  702 /optical coupling  706  interface  710  and the optical coupling  706 /the screen  704  interface  712  with no or substantially little reflection. As shown in  FIG. 8 , emitted light  802  from the screen  704  traverses the screen  704 /the optical coupling  706  interface  712  and the optical coupling  706 /the cover lens  702  interface  710  with no or substantially little reflection. 
     As a result, features visually displayed on the screen  704  and under the cover lens  702  are seen by the user on the cover lens  702  over the actual location of the features visually displayed on the screen  704 . This is in contrast to a configuration in which the optical coupling  706  is omitted and air resides between the screen  704  and the cover lens  702 , where the features seen by the user on the cover lens  702  are shifted (parallax) from the actual location of the features visually displayed on the screen  704 . 
       FIGS. 9 and 10  show embodiments in which the optical coupling  706  is omitted. In this embodiment, air  900  is located between the cover lens  702  and the screen  704 . As shown, external light  902  refracts at the cover lens  702 /air  900  interface  904  and off the air  900 /the screen  704  interface  906 . Likewise, emitted light  1002  refracts at the screen  704 /air  900  interface  906  and at the air  900 /the cover lens interface  904 . 
       FIG. 11  illustrates a method in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein. 
     It is to be appreciated that the order of the following acts is provided for explanatory purposes and is not limiting. As such, one or more of the following acts may occur in a different order. Furthermore, one or more of the following acts may be omitted and/or one or more additional acts may be added. 
     At  1102 , an ultrasound console is provided. 
     At  1104 , a user interface is interfaced with the ultrasound console. As discussed herein, the user interface includes at least one control for interacting with the console, wherein the user interface includes at least one recessed physical feature that facilitates identifying, through sense of touch, an operation activated by the at least one control. 
     At  1106 , a display region is interfaced with the ultrasound console. As discussed herein, the display region includes a screen, a cover lens and an optical coupling there between, wherein a refractive index of the optical coupling is approximately the same of a refractive index of the cover lens and a refractive index of the screen. 
     At  1108 , a transducer probe is interfaced with the ultrasound console. 
     At  1110 , the transducer probe is used to scan an object or subject under control of the console, wherein an operator of the system controls at least one operation via the user interface and generated images are displayed via the display region. 
     The application has been described with reference to various embodiments. Modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading the application. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations, including insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims and the equivalents thereof.