PC-based ultrasound imaging system with microminiaturized electronics

Abstract

Indications for and applications of diagnostic ultrasound have expanded dramatically over the past two decades. Although new ultrasound imaging techniques have been developed and brought to clinical practice, to date, ultrasound machines have employed proprietary, closed system architectures. This approach can slow innovation and increase product costs, both undesirable, given the need for health-care cost containment even as demand for ultrasound imaging continues to expand. In contrast, the Terason family of ultrasound systems features an open, PC-based architecture that allows Terason to leverage the rapid development cycles and economies of the PC industry with respect to display, storage, and transmission of ultrasound data. The Terason approach replaces some “traditional” hardware using software running on commercially available PCs, which reduces cost and increases flexibility. This is in conjunction with Terason’s patented CDP integrated circuit technology, which allows production of an ultrasound system that provides a full range of high-quality fully digital imaging (including B-mode, color flow, and spectral Doppler) at substantially lower cost, size, and power consumption than traditional approaches. Further, Terason’s PC-based approach allows for integration of third-party medical solutions, such as 3D rendering, data analysis, and report-generating software and provides reliable options for both data storage and transmission, facilitating telemedicine applications. Additionally, the open architecture supports external communication with other applications running on the same host computer. This facilitates system integration with other medical applications where real-time noninvasive imaging is desired, including radiation therapy planning and treatment, minimally invasive and robotic surgery techniques, and catheter introduction for diagnostic and therapeutic angiography. Terason’s open, PC-based system architecture in combination with CDP integrated-circuit technology provides significant cost, size, and portability advantages as compared with “traditional” ultrasound systems without compromising features or performance.