Abstract
For 3-D ultrasound imaging, the row-column addressing (RCA) with 2N connections for an N × N 2-D array makes the fabrication and interconnection simpler than the fully addressing with N2 connections. However, RCA degrades the image quality because of defocusing in signal channel direction in the transmit event. To solve this problem, a split row-column addressing scheme (SRCA) is proposed in this paper. Rather than connecting all the elements in the signal channel direction together, this scheme divides the elements in the signal channel direction into several disconnected blocks, thus enables focusing beam access in both signal channel and switch channel directions. Selecting an appropriate split scheme is the key for SRCA to maintaining a reasonable tradeoff between the image quality and the number of connections. Various split schemes for a 32 × 32 array are fully investigated with point spread function (PSF) analysis and imaging simulation. The result shows the split scheme with five blocks (4, 6, 12, 6, and 4 elements of each block) can provide similar image quality to fully addressing. The splitting schemes for different array sizes from 16 × 16 to 96 × 96 are also discussed.
Highlights
Ultrasound imaging has been widely used to scan the soft tissue of the human body in clinical diagnostics and interventional procedures due to the advantages of no radiation, low cost and bedside availability
Other parameters related to the image quality such as average side lobe levels (ASLL), peak side lobe level (PSLL) and main lobe-to-side lobe energy ratio (MSR) were provided
× 32 image quality than couldcould focus focus in the in signal indicated that that Splitting Row-Column Addressing (SRCA)
Summary
Ultrasound imaging has been widely used to scan the soft tissue of the human body in clinical diagnostics and interventional procedures due to the advantages of no radiation, low cost and bedside availability. Conventional 2-D ultrasound may suffer from the subjectivity of diagnostician, which results from the dependence on the experience and knowledge of the diagnostician to manipulate the ultrasound transducer in different angles to acquire a series of images of the pathological area and mentally transform 2-D images into 3-D tissue structures [1]. The anatomic information of the tissue is difficult to be re-traced with the movement of the transducer. 3-D ultrasound images can be acquired through two different modes: mechanical scan mode and. In the former one, the 3-D ultrasound image is reconstructed based on a series of 2-D images, which are captured by a linear array transducer scanning along a predefined route. The frame rate is limited by the relatively slow mechanical movement and long reconstruction process [1]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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 call
