New method to obtain ultrasonic angle independent Doppler color images using a sector transducer.

Abstract

A new method based on the multiple beam procedure to obtain ultrasonic angle independent Doppler color (AIDC) images using Doppler color imaging with a sector transducer has been developed. The transducer was sequentially placed at three locations with different direction orientations to acquire velocity information for the same flow field. Equations have been derived and used to obtain the velocity amplitude and flow direction angle for each point in the flow field from the acquired velocity data and the known positions of the transducer. AIDC images then can be reconstructed. To evaluate the feasibility of this method, AIDC images using a sector transducer have been reconstructed for steady flow fields in a latex tube model and for blood flow in the abdominal aorta of normal human subjects. The quantitative results obtained using this method were in reasonably good agreement with those obtained from existing reference methods.