Imaging blood’s velocity using synthetic aperture ultrasound

The blood velocity vector can be estimated using synthetic aperture techniques in medical ultrasound by using short emission sequences. The whole image region is insonified and the flow can be tracked in all directions continuously. This is a major advantage compared to commercial systems, since the separation between blood and tissue is greatly eased by this, and the estimates can be averaged over long time than in traditional systems.

Vector velocity imaging can, thus, be made and attain an order of magnitude higher precision than in current commercial systems and at higher frame rates. It is also possible to visualize very slow moving flow. The paper will present methods for making such imaging.