An experimental study of ultrasonic imaging with a reduced number of array elements using the envelope method

Sakamoto, Takuya; Taki, Hirofumi; Sato, Toru

doi:10.1250/ast.32.143

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The visualization of the inside of a concrete structure requires a data set of signals from diverse wave paths, and the quality of the image increases as much as the diversity of the wave paths. The monostatic system, which was widely used in the past, shifts the location of a single transducer while transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic pulse simultaneously [24]. This method lacks diversity in the wave path and presents limitation in the quality of the resulting image.…”

Section: Pulse Peak Delay-total Focusing Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pulse Peak Delay-Total Focusing Method for Ultrasonic Tomography on Concrete Structure

2021

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An ultrasonic array device like the A1040 MIRA is used to non-destructively visualize the inside of concrete structures. A data set acquired by the ultrasonic array device is so unfocused that an image reconstruction algorithm is required to transform the data set into an understandable image. The image reconstruction algorithm like total focusing method exploits the time-of-flight of an ultrasonic pulse when focusing the image. While a high frequency ultrasonic pulse barely affects the accuracy of results, a low frequency ultrasonic pulse with a long wavelength causes an overall sagging of the resulting image around half wavelength of the pulse, which results in a poor quality of results. In this research, a modified total focusing method called pulse peak delay-total focusing method is proposed to calibrate the sagging in the resulting images due to the long wavelength of the pulse. The simulation of an ultrasonic array signal is implemented to validate the proposed method. The experimental results are compared with the simulation results to validate the proposed method. The simulation using the proposed method shows good agreement with experimental results. Analysis of results using potential damage curve and array performance indicator shows that the proposed method allows the higher accuracy, as well as the increased resolution of resulting images.

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Section: Pulse Peak Delay-total Focusing Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pulse Peak Delay-Total Focusing Method for Ultrasonic Tomography on Concrete Structure

2021

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“…In the present study, the proposed method employs bi-static data acquisition as follows: In the conventional envelope method, 19) an ultrasound pulse is transmitted spherically from an element, and echoes from targets are acquired separately at each element of a probe, as shown in Fig. 3(a).…”

Section: Conventional Envelope Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To accurately depict a target surface that has curves, the envelope method 19) and the range point migration (RPM) method 20,21) have been proposed. These methods use a bistatic imaging technique, where the receive position is set o be different from the transmit position, and they transmit ultrasound or electromagnetic waves of hemispherical shapes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imaging of human vertebral surface using ultrasound RF data received at each element of probe for thoracic anesthesia

Takahashi

Taki

Onishi

et al. 2017

Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.

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Epidural anesthesia is a common technique for perioperative analgesia and chronic pain treatment. Since ultrasonography is insufficient for depicting the human vertebral surface, most examiners apply epidural puncture by body surface landmarks on the back such as the spinous process and scapulae without any imaging, including ultrasonography. The puncture route to the epidural space at thoracic vertebrae is much narrower than that at lumber vertebrae, and therefore, epidural anesthesia at thoracic vertebrae is difficult, especially for a beginner. Herein, a novel imaging method is proposed based on a bi-static imaging technique by making use of the transmit beam width and direction. In an in vivo experimental study on human thoracic vertebrae, the proposed method succeeded in depicting the vertebral surface clearly as compared with conventional B-mode imaging and the conventional envelope method. This indicates the potential of the proposed method in visualizing the vertebral surface for the proper and safe execution of epidural anesthesia.

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“…In our previous study, we proposed three methods. The first method improves the delayed addition misalignment caused by the reflection of ultrasound at the thoracic vertebral surface, 25) and it depicts a smooth and tilted object by not considering the transmitting and receiving positions as the same, applying the envelope method 26) and range point migration method. 27,28) The second method is based on the difference in ultrasound characteristics between soft tissue and bone, 29) which calculates the ratio of the delayed addition with a wide range along the time direction to the normal one and multiplies it by the brightness value at each point of the image.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transmission conditions for clear depiction of thoracic spine based on difference between reflection and scattering characteristics of medical ultrasound

BANDO

Mori

Arakawa

et al. 2022

Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.

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In epidural anesthesia, it is difficult to specify the puncture position of the anesthesia needle. We have proposed an ultrasonic method to depict the thoracic spine using the different characteristics of reflection from bone and scattering from muscle tissue. In the present paper, we investigated the transmission aperture’s width of the ultrasound probe to emphasize the differences in the reflection and scattering characteristics. First, we determined the optimum transmission aperture’s width using a simulation experiment. Next, we measured reflection and scattering signals by changing the transmission aperture’s width in a water tank experiment and confirmed that the results corresponded to the simulations. However, as the transmission aperture’s width increased, the lateral resolution at the focal point improved. Therefore, better imaging of the human thoracic vertebrae can be achieved by selecting the transmission aperture’s width, which considers the effect on lateral resolution.

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An experimental study of ultrasonic imaging with a reduced number of array elements using the envelope method

Cited by 8 publications

References 27 publications

Pulse Peak Delay-Total Focusing Method for Ultrasonic Tomography on Concrete Structure

Pulse Peak Delay-Total Focusing Method for Ultrasonic Tomography on Concrete Structure

Imaging of human vertebral surface using ultrasound RF data received at each element of probe for thoracic anesthesia

Transmission conditions for clear depiction of thoracic spine based on difference between reflection and scattering characteristics of medical ultrasound

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