Patent ID: 7670291

Claim:
A method for producing a composite interference-free ultrasound image when non-imaging ultrasound waves would otherwise interfere with ultrasound imaging, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a plurality of ultrasound image frames that were produced in the presence of non-imaging ultrasound waves; (b) automatically analyzing the plurality of ultrasound image frames to identify interference-free portions of the ultrasound image frames wherein the step of automatically analyzing the plurality of ultrasound image frames to identify interference-free portions comprises the steps of: (i) separating an ultrasound image frame into a plurality of slices; (ii) for each slice, selecting a predefined portion of the slice; (iii) calculating statistical values for pixel intensities in the predefined portion; and (iv) based on the statistical values, determining if the predefined portion corresponds to interference, such that if the predefined portion does not correspond to interference the slice is temporarily stored, and if the predefined portion does correspond to interference, discarding the slice; and (c) automatically combining a plurality of interference-free portions to generate the composite interference-free ultrasound image.