Abstract
As medical ultrasound imaging moves from conventional cart-based scanners to new form factors such as imaging catheters, hand-held point-of-care scanners and ultrasound patches, there is an increasing need for integrated transceivers that can be closely integrated with the transducer to provide channel-count reduction, improved signal quality and even full digitization. This paper reviews compact and power-efficient circuit solutions for such transceivers. It starts with a brief overview of ultrasound transducer technologies and the operating principles of the ultrasound transmit-receive signal path. For transmission, high-voltage pulsers are reviewed, from compact unipolar pulsers to multi-level pulsers that provide amplitude control and improved power efficiency. The review of receive circuits starts with low-noise amplifiers as the power- and performance-limiting building block. Solutions for time-gain compensation are discussed, which are essential to reduce signal dynamic range by compensating for the decaying echo-signal amplitude associated with propagation attenuation. Finally, the option of direct digitization of the echo signal at the transducer is discussed. The paper ends with a reflection on future opportunities and challenges in the area of integrated circuits for ultrasound applications.
Highlights
U LTRASOUND imaging is widely used to assist diagnosis and guide treatments in a broad range of medical applications, such as obstetrics and cardiology
This paper has reviewed circuit solutions for emerging ultrasound imaging devices, such as 3D imaging catheters, portable ultrasound scanners and wearable ultrasound patches
The paper has focused on the front-end building blocks that interface with the transducer elements and tend to limit power consumption and performance: high-voltage pulsers for transmission and low-noise amplifiers and time-gain compensation for reception
Summary
U LTRASOUND imaging is widely used to assist diagnosis and guide treatments in a broad range of medical applications, such as obstetrics and cardiology. INDEX TERMS Ultrasound imaging, high-voltage pulsers, analog front-ends, low-noise amplifiers, timegain compensation, in-probe digitization.
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