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Article: Multi-channel pre-beamformed data acquisition system for research on advanced ultrasound imaging methods

TitleMulti-channel pre-beamformed data acquisition system for research on advanced ultrasound imaging methods
Authors
Issue Date2012
PublisherIEEE.
Citation
IEEE Transactions On Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, And Frequency Control, 2012, v. 59 n. 2, p. 243-253 How to Cite?
AbstractThe lack of open access to the pre-beamformed data of an ultrasound scanner has limited the research of novel imaging methods to a few privileged laboratories. To address this need, we have developed a pre-beamformed data acquisition (DAQ) system that can collect data over 128 array elements in parallel from the Ultrasonix series of research-purpose ultrasound scanners. Our DAQ system comprises three system-level blocks: 1) a connector board that interfaces with the array probe and the scanner through a probe connector port; 2) a main board that triggers DAQ and controls data transfer to a computer; and 3) four receiver boards that are each responsible for acquiring 32 channels of digitized raw data and storing them to the on-board memory. This system can acquire pre-beamformed data with 12-bit resolution when using a 40-MHz sampling rate. It houses a 16 GB RAM buffer that is sufficient to store 128 channels of pre-beamformed data for 8000 to 25 000 transmit firings, depending on imaging depth; corresponding to nearly a 2-s period in typical imaging setups. Following the acquisition, the data can be transferred through a USB 2.0 link to a computer for offline processing and analysis. To evaluate the feasibility of using the DAQ system for advanced imaging research, two proof-of-concept investigations have been conducted on beamforming and plane-wave B-flow imaging. Results show that adaptive beamforming algorithms such as the minimum variance approach can generate sharper images of a wire cross-section whose diameter is equal to the imaging wavelength (150 μm in our example). Also, planewave B-flow imaging can provide more consistent visualization of blood speckle movement given the higher temporal resolution of this imaging approach (2500 fps in our example). © 2012 IEEE.
Persistent Identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/145559
ISSN
2023 Impact Factor: 3.0
2023 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.945
ISI Accession Number ID
Funding AgencyGrant Number
University of Hong Kong
Funding Information:

We are grateful to thank P. Y. S. Cheung (University of Hong Kong) for his enthusiastic support and encouragement on this work.

References

 

DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributor.authorCheung, CCPen_HK
dc.contributor.authorYu, ACHen_HK
dc.contributor.authorSalimi, Nen_HK
dc.contributor.authorYiu, BYSen_HK
dc.contributor.authorTsang, IKHen_HK
dc.contributor.authorKerby, Ben_HK
dc.contributor.authorAzar, RZen_HK
dc.contributor.authorDickie, Ken_HK
dc.date.accessioned2012-02-28T01:54:16Z-
dc.date.available2012-02-28T01:54:16Z-
dc.date.issued2012en_HK
dc.identifier.citationIEEE Transactions On Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, And Frequency Control, 2012, v. 59 n. 2, p. 243-253en_HK
dc.identifier.issn0885-3010en_HK
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/145559-
dc.description.abstractThe lack of open access to the pre-beamformed data of an ultrasound scanner has limited the research of novel imaging methods to a few privileged laboratories. To address this need, we have developed a pre-beamformed data acquisition (DAQ) system that can collect data over 128 array elements in parallel from the Ultrasonix series of research-purpose ultrasound scanners. Our DAQ system comprises three system-level blocks: 1) a connector board that interfaces with the array probe and the scanner through a probe connector port; 2) a main board that triggers DAQ and controls data transfer to a computer; and 3) four receiver boards that are each responsible for acquiring 32 channels of digitized raw data and storing them to the on-board memory. This system can acquire pre-beamformed data with 12-bit resolution when using a 40-MHz sampling rate. It houses a 16 GB RAM buffer that is sufficient to store 128 channels of pre-beamformed data for 8000 to 25 000 transmit firings, depending on imaging depth; corresponding to nearly a 2-s period in typical imaging setups. Following the acquisition, the data can be transferred through a USB 2.0 link to a computer for offline processing and analysis. To evaluate the feasibility of using the DAQ system for advanced imaging research, two proof-of-concept investigations have been conducted on beamforming and plane-wave B-flow imaging. Results show that adaptive beamforming algorithms such as the minimum variance approach can generate sharper images of a wire cross-section whose diameter is equal to the imaging wavelength (150 μm in our example). Also, planewave B-flow imaging can provide more consistent visualization of blood speckle movement given the higher temporal resolution of this imaging approach (2500 fps in our example). © 2012 IEEE.en_HK
dc.languageengen_US
dc.publisherIEEE.-
dc.relation.ispartofIEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Controlen_HK
dc.titleMulti-channel pre-beamformed data acquisition system for research on advanced ultrasound imaging methodsen_HK
dc.typeArticleen_HK
dc.identifier.emailYu, ACH:alfred.yu@hku.hken_HK
dc.identifier.authorityYu, ACH=rp00657en_HK
dc.description.naturelink_to_subscribed_fulltext-
dc.identifier.doi10.1109/TUFFC.2012.2184en_HK
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-84857832468en_HK
dc.identifier.hkuros198732en_US
dc.identifier.hkuros193623-
dc.relation.referenceshttp://www.scopus.com/mlt/select.url?eid=2-s2.0-84857832468&selection=ref&src=s&origin=recordpageen_HK
dc.identifier.volume59en_HK
dc.identifier.issue2en_HK
dc.identifier.spage243en_HK
dc.identifier.epage253en_HK
dc.identifier.isiWOS:000300847100008-
dc.publisher.placeUnited Statesen_HK
dc.identifier.scopusauthoridCheung, CCP=36116519100en_HK
dc.identifier.scopusauthoridYu, ACH=8699317700en_HK
dc.identifier.scopusauthoridSalimi, N=55061620600en_HK
dc.identifier.scopusauthoridYiu, BYS=55060587200en_HK
dc.identifier.scopusauthoridTsang, IKH=26657657600en_HK
dc.identifier.scopusauthoridKerby, B=55058295500en_HK
dc.identifier.scopusauthoridAzar, RZ=55064028800en_HK
dc.identifier.scopusauthoridDickie, K=55064518500en_HK
dc.identifier.citeulike10398422-
dc.identifier.issnl0885-3010-

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