| US 7,549,963 B2 | ||
| Multi stage beamforming | ||
| John C. Lazenby, Fall City, Wash. (US) | ||
| Assigned to Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., Malvern, Pa. (US) | ||
| Filed on Mar. 25, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/89,996. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2006/0241490 A1, Oct. 26, 2006 | ||
| Int. Cl. A61B 8/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 600—443 [600/447] | 15 Claims |
| 1. A method for ultrasound beamforming data from a region received at an array, the method comprising:
receiving signals at a plurality, N, of elements, the signals responsive to a region of a patient;
filtering first and second sets of data responsive to the signals, first and second pass bands of the filtering for the first
and second sets of data, respectively, being a function of first and second different beam steering directions, respectively;
decimating the first and second sets of the filtered data;
repeating the filtering and decimating for each of the first and second sets of the decimated data, each of the first and
second sets corresponding to a beam wherein the repetition narrows a beamwidth associated with each of the respective beams
of the first and second sets, the repeating providing multiple data sets for each of the first and second data sets, the data
of each of the multiple data sets having the narrowed beamwidth relative to the respective first and second data sets; and
generating an image as a function of the data of each of the multiple data sets.
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