Patent US 7,597,665

A medical system includes a multiplicity of electromechanical transducers disposable in effective pressure-wave-transmitting contact with a patient and mounted to a carrier. Energization componentry is operatively connected to a first plurality of the transducers for supplying the same with electrical signals to produce first pressure waves in the patient. A control unit is operatively connected to the energization componentry and includes an electronic analyzer operatively connected to a second plurality of the transducers for performing electronic 3D volumetric data acquisition and imaging of internal tissue structures. The control unit includes phased-array signal processing circuitry for effectuating an electronic scanning of the internal tissue structures which facilitates one-dimensional, 2D, and 3D data acquisition and circuitry for defining multiple data gathering apertures and for coherently combining structural data from the respective apertures to increase spatial resolution. When the instantaneous positions of the data gathering apertures are unknown, a self-cohering algorithm is used to determine their positions so that coherent aperture combining can be performed.