An Analog-Digital Hybrid RX Beamformer Chip With Non-Uniform Sampling for Ultrasound Medical Imaging With 2D CMUT Array

Um, Ji‐Yong; Kim, Yoon-Jee; Cho, Seongeun; Chae, Min-Kyun; Song, Jongkeun; Kim, Bae-Hyung; Lee, Seunghun; Bang, Jin Ho; Kim, Young-il; Cho, Kyungil; Kim, Byungsub; Sim, Jae‐Yoon; Park, Hong-June

doi:10.1109/tbcas.2014.2375958

Cited by 34 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Today's state-of-the-art 3D ultrasound systems perform analog beamforming in element subgroups in the transducer head to decrease the number of channels that are carried along the cable from a few thousands to a few hundred [13], [39], [40]. This is called "micro-beamforming" or "pre-beamforming", where precomputed fixed analog delays are applied to the signals received by groups of transducer elements, which are then compounded in a single analog signal [13]- [15].…”

Section: Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficient Sample Delay Calculation for 2-D and 3-D Ultrasound Imaging

Ibrahim

Hager

Bartolini

et al. 2017

IEEE Trans. Biomed. Circuits Syst.

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Abstract-Ultrasound imaging is a reference medical diagnostic technique thanks to its blend of versatility, effectiveness and moderate cost. The core computation of all ultrasound imaging methods is based on simple formulae, except for those required to calculate delays with high precision and throughput. Unfortunately, advanced 3D systems require the calculation or storage of billions of such delay values per frame, which is a challenge. In 2D systems, this requirement can be four orders of magnitude lower, but efficient computation is still crucial in view of low-power implementations that can be battery-operated, enabling usage in rescue scenarios.In this paper we explore two smart designs of the delay generation function. To quantify their hardware cost, we implement them on FPGA and study their footprint and performance. We evaluate how these architectures scale to different ultrasound applications, from a low-power 2D system to a next-generation 3D machine. When using numerical approximations, we demonstrate the ability to generate delay values with sufficient throughput to support 10000-channel 3D imaging at up to 30 fps while using 63% of a Virtex 7 FPGA, requiring 24 MB of external memory accessed at about 32 GB/s bandwidth. Alternatively, with similar FPGA occupation, we show an exact calculation method that reaches 24 fps on 1225-channel 3D imaging and does not require external memory at all. Both designs can be scaled to use a negligible amount of resources for 2D imaging in low-power applications, and for ultrafast 2D imaging at hundreds of frames per second.

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Section: Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficient Sample Delay Calculation for 2-D and 3-D Ultrasound Imaging

Ibrahim

Hager

Bartolini

et al. 2017

IEEE Trans. Biomed. Circuits Syst.

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“…In this work, a single-chip hybrid beamformer [12] that we proposed is developed, which consists of eight 8-channel analog beamformers and an 8-channel digital beamformer, as shown in Fig. 9.…”

Section: B Hybrid Beamformer Chipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hybrid volume beamforming for 3-D ultrasound imaging using 2-D CMUT arrays

Kim

Song

Yoo

et al. 2012

2012 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium

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In real-time 3-D (4-D) ultrasound imaging using 2-D array transducers, manipulating massive ultrasound data acquired from a large number of system channels is a challenge as is interconnecting thousands of elements of 2-D array with the imaging system's front-end electronics. Minimizing the number of transmitting and receiving channels and the firing events without degrading the image quality is one of solutions to reduce the overall system complexity and improve the frame rate. This paper introduces a hybrid volume beam-forming and scanning method for a medical ultrasound imaging system. We also present an efficient volume image-forming architecture using 2-D arrays for miniaturized volumetric ultrasound imaging scanners. To evaluate our works, computer simulations are performed. From the simulation results, we have shown that the presented method provides the comparable image quality to the fullysampled array (FSA) beam-formation, and is feasible for realtime volumetric ultrasound scanners with miniature devices.

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“…These measurements have been performed either using silicon or piezoelectric cantilevers at frequencies below 200 kHz. However, capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) (Haller and Khuri-Yakub, 1996) present an advantage over piezoelectric resonators due to their relatively easy integration (Törndahl et al, 2002;Wygant et al, 2008;Gurun et al, 2011;Um et al, 2014). Additionally, gas sensing has already been done with uncoated ultrasonic microresonators by measuring the time of flight of a signal propagating through the gas (Toda and Kobayakawa, 2008;Shanmugam et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proof of Concept and Preliminary Results of Gas Detection by Measuring the Admittance at the Resonance and Anti-resonance of an Uncoated CMUT

et al. 2020

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Functionalized films are commonly used in gas sensing to target a particular gas. This is due, in part, to their usually high capability to detect very low concentrations and their high selectivity. However, their poor stability over time remains a challenge when dealing with applications that require the sensing to remain reliable without frequent recalibration. For this reason, uncoated gas sensors have become increasingly popular regardless of their lower sensitivity and their often non-selective characteristics. There exist different approaches for gas sensing without a functionalized film. One possibility is to use an uncoated resonating sensor and tracking its resonant properties which depend on its surrounding environment. The easy integration capability of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) makes them great candidates for uncoated gas sensing. Moreover, they are able to reach very high resonant frequencies and, therefore, allow for a shorter response time. In this article, a method to detect gas by following the value of the admittance of an uncoated silicon nitride CMUT array at either the resonant or at the anti-resonant frequency is presented and tested. This chemical detection is purely based on the change of the physical properties of the gas mixture (the mass density and the viscosity). A general model describing the impact of the electrical and mechanical properties of the CMUT in the sensitivity is presented, validated and applied to carbon dioxide and methane detection.

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An Analog-Digital Hybrid RX Beamformer Chip With Non-Uniform Sampling for Ultrasound Medical Imaging With 2D CMUT Array

Cited by 34 publications

References 15 publications

Efficient Sample Delay Calculation for 2-D and 3-D Ultrasound Imaging

Efficient Sample Delay Calculation for 2-D and 3-D Ultrasound Imaging

Hybrid volume beamforming for 3-D ultrasound imaging using 2-D CMUT arrays

Proof of Concept and Preliminary Results of Gas Detection by Measuring the Admittance at the Resonance and Anti-resonance of an Uncoated CMUT

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