Determining a presence of an object

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11096604-B2
Application number	US-201816178518-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 1, 2018
Priority date	May 2, 2012
Publication date	Aug 24, 2021
Grant date	Aug 24, 2021

Abstract

Methods, computing devices, and computer-readable medium are described herein related to producing detection signals configured to induce an excited state of an object. A computing device may receive reflection signals, where the reflection signals correspond to at least one detection signals reflected from the object. Based on the received reflection signals, a presence of the object in the excited state may be determined. Further, an output device may provide an indication of the presence of the object in the excited state.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method of detecting a concretion object or a calcification object within a living body, comprising:
inducing an excited state of the object by transmitting one or more first ultrasound pulses into a medium that surrounds the object, wherein the excited state is characterized by varying a size or a shape of a bubble attached to the object, wherein the object in a non-excited state has a first ultrasound reflection characteristics and the object in the excited state has a second ultrasound reflection characteristics, and wherein the first ultrasound reflection characteristics is different from the second ultrasound reflection characteristics;
transmitting one or more second ultrasound pulses into the medium towards the object in the excited state, wherein the second ultrasound pulses have a lower amplitude than the first ultrasound pulses;
detecting one or more second ultrasound reflections of the one or more second ultrasound pulses off of the object in the excited state; and
determining that the object is present in the medium based on detecting the one or more second ultrasound reflections off of the object in the excited state.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more first ultrasound pulses induce the excited state of the object by causing the bubble attached to the object to increase in size.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the object is present comprises detecting a Doppler shift in the one or more second ultrasound reflections.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the object is present comprises detecting a B-mode signal in the one or more second ultrasound reflections.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more second ultrasound pulses has a burst of about 5 microseconds.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more second ultrasound pulses have a pulse repetition period of about 160 microseconds.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more second ultrasound pulses have a pulse repetition period of about 333 microseconds.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more second ultrasound pulses include an ultrasound wave having a frequency within a range from 2 MHz to 8 MHz.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more second ultrasound pulses have a pulse repetition frequency within a range of 1 kHz to 5 kHz.

10. A device for detecting a concretion object or a calcification object within a living body, comprising:
a processor;
an ultrasound probe; and
a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the device to perform functions comprising:
inducing an excited state of the object by transmitting one or more first ultrasound pulses into a medium that surrounds the object, wherein the excited state is characterized by varying a size or a shape of a bubble attached to the object, wherein the object in a non-excited state has a first ultrasound reflection characteristics and the object in the excited state has a second ultrasound reflection characteristics, and wherein the first ultrasound reflection characteristics is different from the second ultrasound reflection characteristics;
transmitting one or more second ultrasound pulses into the medium towards the object in the excited state, wherein the second ultrasound pulses have a lower amplitude than the first ultrasound pulses;
detecting one or more second ultrasound reflections of the one or more second ultrasound pulses off of the object in the excited state; and
determining that the object is present in the medium based on detecting the one or more second ultrasound reflections off of the object in the excited state.

11. The device of claim 10 , wherein the one or more first ultrasound pulses induce the excited state of the object by causing the bubble attached to the object to oscillate.

12. The device of claim 10 , wherein the one or more second ultrasound pulses include an ultrasound wave having a frequency within a range from 2 MHz to 8 MHz.

13. The device of claim 10 , wherein the one or more second ultrasound pulses have a pulse repetition frequency within a range of 1 kHz to 5 kHz.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to detect a concretion object or a calcification object within a living body by performing functions comprising:
inducing an excited state of the object by transmitting one or more first ultrasound pulses into a medium that surrounds the object, wherein the excited state is characterized by varying a size or a shape of a bubble attached to the object, wherein the object in a non-excited state has a first ultrasound reflection characteristics and the object in the excited state has a second ultrasound reflection characteristics, and wherein the first ultrasound reflection characteristics is different from the second ultrasound reflection characteristics;
transmitting one or more second ultrasound pulses into the medium towards the object in the excited state, wherein the second ultrasound pulses have a lower amplitude than the first ultrasound pulses;
detecting one or more second ultrasound reflections of the one or more second ultrasound pulses off of the object in the excited state; and
determining that the object is present in the medium based on detecting the one or more second ultrasound reflections off of the object in the excited state.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein the one or more first ultrasound pulses induce the excited state of the object by causing the bubble attached to the object to increase in size.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein the one or more first ultrasound pulses induce the excited state of the object by causing the bubble attached to the object to oscillate.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein determining that the object is present comprises detecting a Doppler shift in the second ultrasound reflections.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein determining that the object is present comprises detecting a B-mode signal in the second ultrasound reflections.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein determining that the object is present comprises detecting phase variations or phase variability in the second ultrasound reflections.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein a duration of transmitting one or more first ultrasound pulses toward the object is 200-400 microseconds.

Assignees

• Univ Washington Through Its Center For Commercialization

Inventors

• Bailey Michael R
• Lu Wei
• Sapozhnikov Oleg A
• Cunitz Bryan

Classifications

• A61B8/565

  involving data transmission via a network · CPC title

• A61B8/0833

  involving detecting or locating foreign bodies or organic structures · CPC title

• A61B8/5223

  for extracting a diagnostic or physiological parameter from medical diagnostic data (for algorithms to analyse biomedical images G06T7/0012) · CPC title

• G16H50/30

  for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment · CPC title

• A61B5/06 Primary

  Devices, other than using radiation, for detecting or locating foreign bodies {; Determining position of diagnostic devices within or on the body of the patient} · CPC title