Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080302187 | Vibroacoustic System for Vibration Testing - Forces are applied to a device under test and its mechanical response is measured by a laser vibrometer ( | 12-11-2008 |
20100010346 | System and Method For Non-Invasively Measuring Tissue Viscoelasticity Using Surface Waves - A system and method for assessing tissue health based on the viscoelastic properties of the tissue. Surface waves are induced in the tissue and their propagation characteristics are then measured. The tissue viscoelastic properties are then determined from the surface wave measurements using a surface model. | 01-14-2010 |
20110063950 | VIBRATION GENERATION AND DETECTION IN SHEAR WAVE DISPERSION ULTRASOUND VIBROMETRY WITH LARGE BACKGROUND MOTIONS - A method for measuring a mechanical property of a subject includes using an ultrasonic transducer to apply ultrasonic vibration pulses to a vibration origin in the subject in an on-off time sequence in order to impart a harmonic motion at a prescribed frequency to the subject, and when the vibration pulses are off, preferably using the same transducer to apply ultrasonic detection pulses to a motion detection point and to receive echo signals therefrom in order to sense the harmonic motion on the subject at the motion detection point The ultrasonic detection pulses are interspersed with the vibration pulses and can be applied in a non-uniform manner From the received ultrasonic echo signals, a harmonic signal is detected and a characteristic such as amplitude or phase of the detected harmonic signal is calculated using a Kalman filter or interpolation. | 03-17-2011 |
20110263978 | Method for Shear Wave Ultrasound Vibrometry with Interleaved Push and Detection Pulses - A shear wave dispersion ultrasound vibrometry (“SDUV”) method for measuring a mechanical property of a subject is provided. Particularly, a set of ultrasonic vibration tone bursts is applied to a vibration origin in the subject so that harmonic vibratory motion is imparted to a tissue of interest. The set of vibration tone bursts effectively act like a single vibration pulse that imparts vibratory motion at larger amplitudes than achievable with a single pulse. Multiple ultrasonic detection pulses are then applied to two or more locations in the tissue of interest in order to measure shear waves propagating outward from the vibration origin. From these measurements, phase or amplitude information related to the shear wave propagation is determined and used to calculate a shear wave speed. Using the shear wave speed information, mechanical properties of the tissue are calculated. | 10-27-2011 |
20110319756 | Method for Ultrasound Vibrometry Using Orthogonal Basis Functions - A method for measuring a mechanical property of a subject includes using an ultrasound transducer to apply ultrasonic vibration pulses to a location in a subject in order to induce shear waves at multiple prescribed orthogonal frequencies in the subject. The ultrasound transducer is directed by an excitation signal that is composed of multiple orthogonal basis functions, each having a given frequency component corresponding to the prescribed orthogonal frequencies. The power level of each orthogonal basis function is independently adjustable. The excitation signal can be sparsely sampled, or portions of the excitation signal can be removed in order to improve tissue vibration and to provide for the interleaving ultrasonic vibration and detection pulses. Ultrasonic detection pulses are applied to at least one motion detection point, from which echo signals are received. From the received echo signals, a motion signal is determined, from which mechanical properties of the subject are calculated. | 12-29-2011 |
20120226158 | System and Method for Correcting Errors in Shear Wave Measurements Arising From Ultrasound Beam Geometry - A system and method for measuring mechanical properties of a tissue using an ultrasound system is provided. Ultrasound energy is applied to the tissue using the ultrasound system in order to produce shear waves that propagate in the tissue. Measurement data are then acquired by directing ultrasound detection pulses into the tissue. Information about the intensity field of the ultrasound energy used to produce the shear waves is obtained and used to produce a correction factor. This correction factor is applied to the measurement data to correct the measurement data for errors arising from the geometry of the ultrasound energy used to produce the shear waves. From the corrected measurement data, mechanical properties of the tissue are calculated. | 09-06-2012 |
20130237821 | System and Method for Model-Independent Quantification of Tissue Viscoelastic Properties Using Ultrasound - A model-independent method for producing a viscoelastic tissue property metric using ultrasound is provided. A mechanical stress, such as an acoustic force, is applied to a tissue using an ultrasound system and tissue displacement resulting from the applied acoustic force is measured. From the tissue displacement measurements, a complex modulus, such as a relative complex modulus, is extracted. A loss tangent is calculated from the extracted complex modulus. Using the calculated loss tangent, viscoelastic tissue property metrics may be calculated. | 09-12-2013 |
20140018679 | GENERATION AND ASSESSMENT OF SHEAR WAVES IN ELASTICITY IMAGING - A method for generation and analysis of shear waves in a subject with an ultrasound system. Multiple short ultrasound push pulses are applied, as a set and optionally more than once, to one or more push origins at the subject to produce first and second shear waves of large amplitudes and desired spatial distributions, which are separated in space and time and which have opposite polarity such that initial movements of the subject tissue, respectively caused by the first and second shear waves, occur in opposite directions. At least one mechanical property of the subject (including that represented by shear wave group velocity, phase velocity, and attenuation of a shear wave) is determined based at least in part on a distance between wavefronts of the first and second shear waves. | 01-16-2014 |
20140046173 | ULTRASOUND VIBROMETRY WITH UNFOCUSED ULTRASOUND - Methods for measuring mechanical properties of an object or subject under examination with an ultrasound system and using unfocused ultrasound energy are provided. Shear waves that propagate in the object or subject are produced by applying unfocused ultrasound energy to the object or subject, and measurement data is acquired by applying focused or unfocused ultrasound energy to at least one location in the object or subject at which shear waves are present Mechanical properties are then calculated from the acquired measurement data. | 02-13-2014 |
20140081136 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR NON-INVASIVE MEASUREMENT OF CARPAL TUNNEL PRESSURE - Method and system for non-invasive determination of a pressure characteristic associated with carpal tunnel (CT) region of a subject. Speed of a shear wave induced in the tissue of the subject and propagating through the CT region is measured at least once. The pressure characteristic is substantially proportional to determined speed. | 03-20-2014 |