METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CREATING ADAPTIVELY FOCUSED ULTRASOUND IMAGES

A method for creating ultrasound images determines if an ultrasound transducer is moving by more than a predetermined amount by obtaining two conventionally focused images D.sub.K-1 and D.sub.K. Each image is divided into a series of sections. An image processor searches the previous frame D.sub.K-1 for data points found in the current frame D.sub.K. Movement vectors are defined for each section that describe how the data points of a section move from the previous frame D.sub.K-1 to the current frame D.sub.K. The movement vectors are then applied to sections of a previously displayed adaptively focused frame I.sub.K-1 in order to create a translated adaptively focused frame I.sub.K-1'. A new adaptively focused frame is created by averaging the current adaptively focused frame A.sub.K with the translated frame I.sub.K-1'.