A rapid three-dimensional High Intensity Focused Ultrasound beam plotting

Abstract

The goal of this study was to develop a rapid three-dimensional High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) beam plotting system for visualizing the acoustic energy distribution, achieved using a three-dimensional positioning system and data acquisition hardware. Beam plots of a 1.1MHz HIFU transducer were performed to evaluate the capability of the proposed system. A three-dimensional beam plotting was completed in only about 30 minutes and covered a predetermined volume of 5mm x 20mm x 5mm with a spatial resolution of 0.2mm x 0.001mm x 0.2mm. The FWHM (Full Width at Half Maximum) dimensions of the ultrasound field on axial and lateral directions were measured at 12.51mm and 1.4mm respectively. The proposed system can not only perform 2-dimensional beam plots but also can aid in the visualization of a three-dimensional ultrasound beam pattern volume within a relatively short scanning time.