NICOP - Development of advanced experimental methods for 3D ultrasound imaging
Abstract
Ultrasound (US) imaging is one of the most successful diagnostic medical tools thanks to portability, nonionizingfeatures, low~cost"" and real~time operation. While two~dimensional (2D) US imaging has achievedfull maturity, the passage to real~time 3D echocardiogr""aphy is still a challenging task. In fact, very highvolume rates must be produced, which involves the use of special (matrix array)" probes and managingcorrespondingly high data acquisition and processing rates.Matrix array probes are ideal candidates for 3D ima"ging because they can steer the US beams into arbitrarydirections through a fast electronic control, without involving any probe mo""vement. The implementation ofsuch a control is, however, technically demanding, because of the huge number (up to some thousands) o""finvolved transducer elements, making difficult their connections and driving.In this project, we plan to implement 3D~US imaging"" by a combination of innovative approaches.First, high frame rate methods will be adopted: such methods exploit the transmission of"" unfocused beams(wide beams, plane waves, or diverging waves) or of beams simultaneously focused along differentdirections; in rec""eption, they implement the so~called dynamic ~parallel beamforming~, that allowsreconstructing multiple image lines simultaneously."" Compared to the classic line~by~line image formation,these approaches can significantly reduce the acquisition time, thus increasi""ng the achievable volume rate.Second, high~tech ~sparse~ matrix array probes, having a number of elements suitable to be individual""lycontrolled by advanced US scanners, will be designed and implemented. The design will be based on anovel density tapered array," in which the elements will be positioned according to the Fermat~s spirallayout that ensures uniform performance and reduced side~lobes over a wide range of steering angles.Prototype sparse arrays will be developed using advanced CMUT and laser cutting piezoele"ctrictechnologies in collaboration with international groups who are specialists in the field.Finally, all new ~parallel beamformi""ng~ methods and probes will be thoroughly tested by means of thestate~of~the~art open US research platform, named ULA~OP 256, which"" will be properly adapted to thespecific needs of 3D imaging. The system, completely developed in Florence laboratory, can independ"entlymanage up to 256 channels (a number compatible with the numer of elements in sparse arrays) both intransmission and in recept"ion, with full programmability, high calculation power and access to data in everypoint of the processing chain. Thanks to these ch""aracteristics, it will be possible to control the system toimplement high frame rate parallel beamforming according to the latest i"nnovative approaches.The intense experimental activity will permit to set the state~of~the art in 3D US imaging by validating newmethods and indicating new directions. The possible applications of this project span from plaque detectionin carotid artery imaging to head injury detection in brain imaging as well as to non~destructive testingneeded by automotive and aircraft industries.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 20, 2017
- Source ID
- N629091812031
Entities
People
- Piero Tortoli
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Florence