Patent ID: 8292811

Claim:
An application interface for an ultrasound stream manager of a diagnostic medical ultrasound system, the ultrasound system comprising first and second data sources, the first data source comprising a transducer operative to transmit acoustic energy into a subject and receive a substantially continuous succession of echoes therefrom and a converter coupled with the transducer and operative to convert each of the substantially continuous succession of received echoes into a first sequence of digital signals as the echoes are received by said transducer, the first data source being operative to generate a first data stream and the second data source operative to generate a second data stream, the first data stream comprising the first sequence of digital signals and the second data stream comprising a second sequence of digital signals, the stream manager operative to facilitate communication of the first and second data streams between the first and second data sources and the interface, the interface comprising: a first data stream input coupled with the stream manager and operative to receive the first data stream from the first data source and a second data stream input coupled with the stream manager and operative to receive the second data stream from the second data source; a data stream normalization processor coupled with the first and second data stream inputs and operative to normalize the first and second data streams to convert the first and second data streams to a generic format, protocol or combination thereof; a data stream buffer coupled with the data stream normalization processor and operative to store the normalized first and second data streams; first and second data stream outputs operative to couple a first application, a second application, or a combination thereof, with the interface; a data stream allocator coupled with the data stream buffer and the first and second data stream outputs and operative to arbitrate access by the first and second applications to the first and second normalized data streams, synchronize the first and second normalized data streams, or a combination thereof; and a request processor coupled with the data stream allocator and operative to receive a request for access to the normalized first data stream, the normalized second data stream, or a combination thereof, by the first application, the second application, or a combination thereof, and, in response thereto, cause the data stream allocator to provide real time access to the normalized first data stream, the normalized second data stream, or a combination thereof, to the first application, the second application, or a combination thereof, via the first and second data stream outputs as the first data stream, second data stream or a combination thereof is received from the first and second data sources respectively by the first and second data stream inputs.