METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL ULTRASOUND IMAGING COMBINING INTENSITY DATA WITH COLOR FLOW VELOCITY OR POWER DATA

摘要

A system for three-dimensional imaging of an ultrasound scattering medium moving relative to adjacent tissue in an object volume, comprising: an ultrasound transducer array for transmitting ultrasound beams and detecting ultrasound echoes reflected in the object volume at a multiplicity of sample volumes; means (4A) for acquiring Doppler data derived at least in part from ultrasound echoes reflected by the scattering medium, each Doppler datum corresponding to a respective one of said multiplicity of sample volumes; means (14A) for acquiring intensity data derived at least in part from ultrasound echoes reflected by tissue, each intensity datum corresponding to a respective one of said multiplicity of sample volumes; memory means (18) for storing pixel data for each of said multiplicity of sample volumes, each pixel datum comprising a respective Doppler datum and a respective intensity datum corresponding to a respective sample volume; means (22) for retrieving a set of pixel data from said memory means corresponding to a volume of interest in the object volume; means (24) for volumetrically rendering the Doppler data and the intensity data in said pixel data set by projecting the Doppler data onto a first image plane to form a first projected Doppler data set representing a first Doppler projected image component and by projecting the intensity data onto said first image plane to form a projected intensity data set representing a first B-mode projected image component; a display monitor (12); and means (not shown) for displaying a first projected image by combining said first Doppler and said first B-mode projected image components on said display monitor. 161 ז' באייר התשס" א - April 30, 2001