Patent ID: 8137280

Claim:
A processor configurable digital ultrasound beam-former for steering at least one of the direction and the focus of an ultrasound beam from a plurality ultrasound transducer arrays of different types with variable number of array elements and frequencies, wherein signals from array elements of the transducer arrays or sub-aperture groups of the array elements represent analog channels, and wherein said beam-former comprises: a set of analog transmitters and receivers, each transmitter comprising a transmitter amplifier and each receiver comprising a receiver amplifier having a receiver output; an array coupling device that couples the analog channels to the front connections of one or more of the transmitters and receivers; N analog to digital converters (ADCs) operating at a conversion rate f s , N being a whole number, and wherein an ADC input of each ADC is coupled to a respective one of the receiver outputs of the receiver amplifiers via an ADC connector, wherein said ADC connector is one of a direct connection between the receiver outputs and the ADC inputs, and a set of N multiplexers (MUXes), wherein inputs to the MUXes are the receiver outputs and outputs of the MUXes connect to the ADC inputs; a programmable digital beam forming unit to which ADC outputs of said ADCs are coupled as inputs, said digital beam forming unit being configurable to sort the outputs of said ADCs into digital samples of received signals from said analog channels, configured to provide phase, delay, and amplitude modifications of said sorted signals to produce modified signals, and configured to combine the modified signals into one or more beam signals; and a control processor configured to selectably configure a functional operation of the beam former through interaction with at least said array coupling device and said beam forming unit, and configured to couple a selectable number of ADCs to sample signals from each analog channel, wherein said beam forming unit sorts the ADC outputs into samples of signals from individual array elements or sub-aperture groups of elements, and to perform beam forming of the analog channels into one or more beam signals.