A CMUT-based finger-mounted 3D ultrasound probe

Abstract

Developing 2D array-based systems for 3D imaging is overall more challenging due to the complexity in addressing the transducer elements. The Row-Column (RC) scheme results in a significant reduction in electrical leads at a reasonable cost in imaging quality. This paper presents imaging analysis on RC beamforming and provides evidence on why an RC-based Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (RC CMUT) array is suitable for mounting on the finger-tip for close-up imaging. The prototype can be fitted over a finger and be used for scanning a small targeted volume. The front-end electronics are also designed so that the device can be hands-free and be attached to the back of the hand. The simulation and experiment shows that the calculated scanning volume is highly limited by natural focusing. For a 4.8mm by 4.8mm, 5.9MHz, 32x32 elements RC CMUT array, the calculated -6dB lateral resolution ranges from 0.3mm to 1mm within a 10mm depth. The effective scanning volume, given a 1mm resolution threshold, is approximately 4.5mm by 4.5mm by 10mm.

Performance simulation and testing of capacitive micro-machined ultrasonic transducer

“…Khuri-Yakub Research Group of Stanford University in the USA (Hansen et al , 1997; Nikoozadeh et al , 2010), which is the first to conduct CMUT research; the David M. Mills Research Group of USA General Electric (Mills, 2004); the research group of G. Caliano and Alessandro Stuart Savoia at Terza Università degli Studi di Roma in Italy (Caliano et al , 2005; Savoia et al , 2012); Sonetics Ultrasound Technology Corporation in the USA (Lemmerhirt et al , 2012); the Albert I.H. Chen Research Group at the University of Waterloo, Canada (Chen et al , 2014); the Hitachi Medical Research Center in Japan (Taichi and Shuntaro, 2013); the Song Guangde Research Group at the Tianjin University (Zhang et al , 2015); and the Micron Nanometer Technology Research Center at the North University of China (Wang et al , 2017; Zhang et al , 2016). An overview of domestic and international research on CMUT reveals that CMUT technology has developed rapidly in the past 20 years, with a principal focus on structural optimization, manufacturing process improvement, material performance improvement, and similar topics.…”