Abstract
The present study illustrates the design, fabrication, and evaluation of a novel multifocal point (MFP) transducer based on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film for high-frequency ultrasound application. The fabricated MFP surface was press-focused using a computer numerical control (CNC) machining tool-customized multi-spherical pattern object. The multi-spherical pattern has five spherical surfaces with equal area and connected continuously to have the same energy level at focal points. Center points of these spheres are distributed in a linear pattern with 1 mm distance between each two points. The radius of these spheres increases steadily from 10 mm to 13.86 mm. The designed MFP transducer had a center frequency of 50 MHz and a −6 dB bandwidth of 68%. The wire phantom test was conducted to study and demonstrate the advantages of this novel design. The obtained results for MFP transducer revealed a significant increase (4.3 mm) of total focal zone in the near-field and far-field area compared with 0.48 mm obtained using the conventional single focal point transducer. Hence, the proposed method is promising to fabricate MFP transducers for deeper imaging depth applications.
Highlights
High-frequency ultrasound transducers have been widely used in various biomedical applications including intravascular, skin, and eye imaging on animals [1,2,3]
This study reported a novel design, fabrication, and characterization of multifocal point (MFP) transducers that significantly increased the focal zone (4.3 mm) compared with that generated by a single focal point (SFP) transducer
The clear image of five phantom wires has demonstrated the extended focal zone of the proposed MFP transducer. It shows the capability of extending the focal zone for a larger size of the target being imaged without the necessity of applying depth scans or any complex synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT)
Summary
High-frequency ultrasound transducers have been widely used in various biomedical applications including intravascular, skin, and eye imaging on animals [1,2,3]. A recent study developed an intravascular photoacoustic imaging method using the ultrasonic transducer and multimode fiber to identify atherosclerotic plaques through spatial and functional information of transportation of light in tissues [4]. It is a well-known phenomenon that for developing a high-quality deep scanning transducer, the length of the depth of field (DOF) or focal zone should be deeper. The parameters of the focused transducers including frequency, focal length, aperture, spatial resolution and the DOF or focal zone should be appropriately designed to achieve the best image quality. Jeffrey et al [5]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
