A Pitch-Matched ASIC with Integrated 65V TX and Shared Hybrid Beamforming ADC for Catheter-Based High-Frame-Rate 3D Ultrasound Probes

Intra-cardiac echography (ICE) probes (Fig. 32.2.1) are widely used in electrophysiology for their good procedure guidance and relatively safe application. ASICs are increasingly employed in these miniature probes to enhance signal quality and reduce the number of connections needed in mm-diameter catheters [1]-[5]. 3D visualization in real...

Impact of Bit Errors in Digitized RF Data on Ultrasound Image Quality

This article quantitatively analyzes the impact of bit errors in digitized RF data on ultrasound image quality. The quality of B-mode images in both linear array and phased array imaging is evaluated by means of three objective image quality metrics: peak signal-to-noise ratio, structural similarity index, and contrast-to-noise ratio, when...

Blind calibration for arrays with an aberration layer in ultrasound imaging

We consider the scenario of finding the transfer function of an aberrating layer in front of an ultrasound array. We are interested in blindly estimating this transfer function without prior knowledge of the unknown ultrasound sources or ultrasound contrast image. The algorithm gives an exact solution if the matrix representing the aberration...

Feasibility of High Frame Rate 3-D Intracardiac Echography using Fan-Beam Transmissions

Joint optimization of coding mask and scan positions for compressive single sensor imaging

We study the optimal design of an aperture coding mask, and the optimal sensing positions of a single ultrasound sensor with a scanning configuration. In previous works, we have shown that 3D ultrasound imaging is possible using a randomly shaped coding mask with randomly chosen sensing positions. Here we propose an optimization algorithm for...

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...

Compressive 3D ultrasound imaging using a single sensor

Three-dimensional ultrasound is a powerful imaging technique, but it requires thousands of sensors and complex hardware. Very recently, the discovery of compressive sensing has shown that the signal structure can be exploited to reduce the burden posed by traditional sensing requirements. In this spirit, we have designed a simple ultrasound...

A Front-End ASIC with Receive Sub-array Beamforming Integrated with a 32 × 32 PZT Matrix Transducer for 3-D Transesophageal Echocardiography

This paper presents a power-and area-efficient front-end application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) that is directly integrated with an array of 32 × 32 piezoelectric transducer elements to enable next-generation miniature ultrasound probes for real-time 3-D transesophageal echocardiography. The 6.1 × 6.1 mm² ASIC, implemented...

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...

Estimating 3D lumen centerlines of carotid arteries in free-hand acquisition ultrasound

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology to estimate the carotid artery lumen centerlines in ultrasound (US) images obtained in a free-hand examination. Challenging aspects here are speckle noise in US images, artifacts, and the lack of contrast in the direction orthogonal to the US beam direction. Method An algorithm based...

Database guided detection of anatomical landmark points in 3D images of the heart