“…2(a) , the following major TX-related hardware components can be found in software-based OPs: pulser amplifiers (for driving individual array elements), a power distribution module (for supplying the required electrical voltages), and a TX sequence controller (for setting the pulse pattern to be sent through each array element). These electronic components are generally housed within a multilayer printed circuit board (PCB), and the pulser amplifiers and power distribution module are typically implemented using commercially available IC chips [3] , [4] . Fig.…”
Section: Architecture Of Open Platforms: Software-based Platformsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Ultrasound imaging has enjoyed tremendous success as a real-time imaging modality for bedside diagnostics [1] . This success is much attributed to various engineering advances such as array transducer design [2] , integrated circuit (IC) development [3] , [4] , and digital signal processing hardware [5] , [6] that have altogether enabled real-time implementation of ultrasound imaging. Thanks to these engineering advances, clinical ultrasound scanners are generally compact enough to fit within a rollable trolley or even a portable tablet device [7] , [8] .…”
Open platform (OP) ultrasound systems are aimed primarily at the research community. They have been at the forefront of the development of synthetic aperture, plane wave, shear wave elastography, and vector flow imaging. Such platforms are driven by a need for broad flexibility of parameters that are normally preset or fixed within clinical scanners. OP ultrasound scanners are defined to have three key features including customization of the transmit waveform, access to the prebeamformed receive data, and the ability to implement real-time imaging. In this paper, a formative discussion is given on the development of OPs from both the research community and the commercial sector. Both software- and hardware-based architectures are considered, and their specifications are compared in terms of resources and programmability. Software-based platforms capable of real-time beamforming generally make use of scalable graphics processing unit architectures, whereas a common feature of hardware-based platforms is the use of field-programmable gate array and digital signal processor devices to provide additional on-board processing capacity. OPs with extended number of channels (>256) are also discussed in relation to their role in supporting 3-D imaging technique development. With the increasing maturity of OP ultrasound scanners, the pace of advancement in ultrasound imaging algorithms is poised to be accelerated.
“…2(a) , the following major TX-related hardware components can be found in software-based OPs: pulser amplifiers (for driving individual array elements), a power distribution module (for supplying the required electrical voltages), and a TX sequence controller (for setting the pulse pattern to be sent through each array element). These electronic components are generally housed within a multilayer printed circuit board (PCB), and the pulser amplifiers and power distribution module are typically implemented using commercially available IC chips [3] , [4] . Fig.…”
Section: Architecture Of Open Platforms: Software-based Platformsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Ultrasound imaging has enjoyed tremendous success as a real-time imaging modality for bedside diagnostics [1] . This success is much attributed to various engineering advances such as array transducer design [2] , integrated circuit (IC) development [3] , [4] , and digital signal processing hardware [5] , [6] that have altogether enabled real-time implementation of ultrasound imaging. Thanks to these engineering advances, clinical ultrasound scanners are generally compact enough to fit within a rollable trolley or even a portable tablet device [7] , [8] .…”
Open platform (OP) ultrasound systems are aimed primarily at the research community. They have been at the forefront of the development of synthetic aperture, plane wave, shear wave elastography, and vector flow imaging. Such platforms are driven by a need for broad flexibility of parameters that are normally preset or fixed within clinical scanners. OP ultrasound scanners are defined to have three key features including customization of the transmit waveform, access to the prebeamformed receive data, and the ability to implement real-time imaging. In this paper, a formative discussion is given on the development of OPs from both the research community and the commercial sector. Both software- and hardware-based architectures are considered, and their specifications are compared in terms of resources and programmability. Software-based platforms capable of real-time beamforming generally make use of scalable graphics processing unit architectures, whereas a common feature of hardware-based platforms is the use of field-programmable gate array and digital signal processor devices to provide additional on-board processing capacity. OPs with extended number of channels (>256) are also discussed in relation to their role in supporting 3-D imaging technique development. With the increasing maturity of OP ultrasound scanners, the pace of advancement in ultrasound imaging algorithms is poised to be accelerated.
“…Since the real medical ultrasound echo signal is not a signal with only one single frequency, large bandwidth of the first block LNA is desirable to guarantee the integrity of the information carried in the ultrasonic echoes. The linearity of the LNA should also be considered and simulated carefully since the distortions and nonlinearities introduced by the LNA are unlikely to be removed by the following stages in the AFE [12,13,14]. Although some well-known chip design companies, such as the ADI (Analog Devices Inc., Norwood, MA.…”
This paper describes the design of an ultrahigh frequency ultrasound system combined with tightly focused 500 MHz ultrasonic transducers and high frequency wideband low noise amplifier (LNA) integrated circuit (IC) model design. The ultrasonic transducers are designed using Aluminum nitride (AlN) piezoelectric thin film as the piezoelectric element and using silicon lens for focusing. The fabrication and characterization of silicon lens was presented in detail. Finite element simulation was used for transducer design and evaluation. A custom designed LNA circuit is presented for amplifying the ultrasound echo signal with low noise. A Common-source and Common-gate (CS-CG) combination structure with active feedback is adopted for the LNA design so that high gain and wideband performances can be achieved simultaneously. Noise and distortion cancelation mechanisms are also employed in this work to improve the noise figure (NF) and linearity. Designed by using a 0.35 μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology, the simulated power gain of the echo signal wideband amplifier is 22.5 dB at 500 MHz with a capacitance load of 1.0 pF. The simulated NF at 500 MHz is 3.62 dB.
“…Front-end low-noise amplification (lna), time-gain compression (TGc), and analog-to-digital conversion (adc) functions that previously required stacks of custom printed circuit boards are now being delivered as off-the-shelf solutions that accomplish these tasks within a single chip or single package, even with four, eight, or more channels per package [1], [2]. likewise, digital filtering, beamforming, scan conversion, image processing, and user-interface tasks can now be performed quickly, compactly, and cheaply by highly integrated digital electronics [(including digital signal processors (dsPs) and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGas)], which benefit from the Moore'slaw-driven trends of the semiconductor industry in computational speed, density, and cost.…”
As ultrasound imagers become increasingly portable and lower cost, breakthroughs in transducer technology will be needed to provide high-resolution, real-time 3-D imaging while maintaining the affordability needed for portable systems. This paper presents a 32 x 32 ultrasound array prototype, manufactured using a CMUT-in-CMOS approach whereby ultrasonic transducer elements and readout circuits are integrated on a single chip using a standard integrated circuit manufacturing process in a commercial CMOS foundry. Only blanket wet-etch and sealing steps are added to complete the MEMS devices after the CMOS process. This process typically yields better than 99% working elements per array, with less than ±1.5 dB variation in receive sensitivity among the 1024 individually addressable elements. The CMUT pulseecho frequency response is typically centered at 2.1 MHz with a -6 dB fractional bandwidth of 60%, and elements are arranged on a 250 μm hexagonal grid (less than half-wavelength pitch). Multiplexers and CMOS buffers within the array are used to make on-chip routing manageable, reduce the number of physical output leads, and drive the transducer cable. The array has been interfaced to a commercial imager as well as a set of custom transmit and receive electronics, and volumetric images of nylon fishing line targets have been produced.
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