This invention relates to ultrasonic diagnostic imaging systems and, in particular, to ultrasound systems which can automatically power up at predetermined times or respond to remotely generated queries.
Today""s high performance ultrasound systems contain a substantial amount of sophisticated and custom circuitry which enable the systems to create high quality real-time images. This sophistication has led to the need for a complex and time-consuming boot-up procedure to initialize the system for diagnostic use each time it is turned on. The system user must wait for the boot-up procedure to conclude before the system can be used for scanning. Because of this inconvenience and complexity of turning the ultrasound system on, ultrasound systems are frequently left on during periods of inactivity to avoid this delay. Sometimes an ultrasound system will be powered up continuously, and even left on overnight when it will not be used for many hours, simply as a matter of convenience. However, a sophisticated ultrasound system can consume in excess of 1000 watts of energy on a continual basis when it is left on. While the machine sits idle it continues to consume electricity and generate heat. It is thus desirable to minimize the power consumption and heat dissipation of an ultrasound system during such periods of inactivity, while at the same time enabling the ultrasound system to be immediately ready for scanning when needed and able to respond to external queries while it is unused.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system is described which can be set to automatically initialize itself or scanning at a predetermined time. Thus, the ultrasound system can be shut down at the end of a workday and be ready for scanning at the desired time the next day. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention the ultrasound system automatically performs system diagnostics to assure accurate operation during its initialization procedure. In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, while the ultrasound system is turned off and thus not using significant electrical power or generating large amounts of heat, it nevertheless remains responsive to external queries to access images or reports stored on the system, or to respond to remote diagnostic requests during non-business hours.