High-Frequency Ultrasonic Imaging System and Method

高頻超音波成像系統及方法

中華民國： I431270

Chao-Hung Chung, Chih-Kuang Yeh, Chih-Hao Cheng

鐘招宏、葉秩光、鄭致灝

Since high-frequency ultrasound provides the advantage of high spatial resolution, it has been applied to relevant fields of medical imaging research. Due to a lack of high-frequency ultrasonic transducer with array structure, the high-frequency ultrasonic transducer must be performed in a fixed depth of focus during scanning. A swept scanning method is typical for flow estimation. However, this method cannot provide the precise flow estimation within the irregular-shaped object, because the focal zone of the above-mentioned transducer just covers a specific depth of focus and the outside the focal area corresponds poor signal to noise ratio. To resolve this problem, the present invention provides a skin scanning method, which can move the transducer along a scanning route parallel to the contour of the irregular-shaped object during scanning. The scanning results show that the skin scanning method improves the accuracy of flow estimation.

由於高頻超音波具有高空間性解析度的優點，因此已被運用於醫學相關領域的研究上。高頻超音波探頭缺乏陣列式結構，所以高頻超音波探頭在掃描時，必須以一固定聚焦深度執行掃描。而掃掠式掃描方法通常就是利用高頻超音波探頭觀測流體流量。然而，若目標物具有不規則外形，則該掃掠式掃描方法無法提供該目標物表面上之流量觀測資訊的精確性，因為上述探頭之聚焦區只能覆蓋一特定之聚焦深度，而在聚焦區之外則對應了較差之訊雜比。為了解決此一問題，本發明提供一種表面式掃描方法，當進行掃描時，驅動該探頭沿平行於不規則外形之目標物輪廓的掃描路徑移動。掃描結果顯示該表面式掃描方法可改善流量觀測資訊之精確性。