A system and method for performing accelerated ultrasound imaging provides significant increases in image acquisition speed using substantially simultaneous transmission of a plurality of ultrasound beams into an object being imaged. The resulting acquired echo signal contributions resulting from the reflection of the simultaneously transmitted beams off different features of the object being imaged are separated by employing a spatial decoding scheme. The spatial decoding scheme characterizes how received signals from features within the object being imaged are measured differently by each of the elements of an ultrasound transducer. The present invention may further include a temporal encoding and decoding scheme, which includes the modulation of a potion of the ultrasound beams transmitted during a portion of ultrasound data acquisition periods, to provide improved separation of the signal components from different features.
