Fabrication and Characterization of a Prototype Forward-Looking Single-Cable 64-Element Intra-Vascular Ultrasound Probe

This paper presents the integration steps towards a prototype forward-looking intra-vascular ultrasound probe. An ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) is laser cut to create a 1.6mm circular shaped die that can be integrated at the tip of a small catheter. The ASIC is designed such that it can be used to transmit and receive on 64...

A Front-End ASIC With High-Voltage Transmit Switching and Receive Digitization for 3-D Forward-Looking Intravascular Ultrasound Imaging

This paper presents an area- and power-efficient application-specified integrated circuit (ASIC) for 3-D forward-looking intravascular ultrasound imaging. The ASIC is intended to be mounted at the tip of a catheter, and has a circular active area with a diameter of 1.5 mm on the top of which a 2-D array of piezoelectric transducer elements is...

Fast Volumetric Imaging Using a Matrix Transesophageal Echocardiography Probe with Partitioned Transmit–Receive Array

We describe a 3-D multiline parallel beamforming scheme for real-time volumetric ultrasound imaging using a prototype matrix transesophageal echocardiography probe with diagonally diced elements and separated transmit and receive arrays. The elements in the smaller rectangular transmit array are directly wired to the ultrasound system. The...

Acoustic characterization of a miniature matrix transducer for pediatric 3D transesophageal echocardiography

This paper presents the design, fabrication and characterization of a miniature PZT-on-CMOS matrix transducer for real-time pediatric 3-dimensional (3D) transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). This 3D TEE probe consists of a 32 × 32 array of PZT elements integrated on top of an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). We propose a...

A 2D Ultrasound Transducer with Front-End ASIC and Low Cable Count for 3D Forward-Looking Intravascular Imaging: Performance and Characterization

Intravascular ultrasound is an imaging modality used to visualize atherosclerosis from within the inner lumen of human arteries. Complex lesions like chronic total occlusions require forward-looking intravascular ultrasound (FL-IVUS), instead of the conventional side-looking geometry. Volumetric imaging can be achieved with 2D array...

Multiline 3D beamforming using micro-beamformed datasets for pediatric transesophageal echocardiography

Until now, no matrix transducer has been realized for 3D transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in pediatric patients. In 3D TEE with a matrix transducer, the biggest challenges are to connect a large number of elements to a standard ultrasound system, and to achieve a high volume rate (>200 Hz). To address these issues, we have recently...

Acoustic Characterization of a 32 × 32 Element PZT-on-ASIC Matrix Transducer for 3D Transesophageal Echocardiography

Echocardiography is a portable, safe, and low-cost imaging technique for accurate assessment of the heart. In transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) the esophagus is utilized as the imaging window to examine the cardiac anatomy and function. In conventional TEE probes, a one-dimensional (1D) ultrasound array is employed to obtain two-dimensional...