Abstract
Single-element transducer based ultrasound (US) imaging offers a compact and affordable solution for high-frequency preclinical and clinical imaging because of its low cost, low complexity, and high spatial resolution compared to array-based US imaging. To achieve B-mode imaging, conventional approaches adapt mechanical linear or sector scanning methods. However, due to its low scanning speed, mechanical linear scanning cannot achieve acceptable temporal resolution for real-time imaging, and the sector scanning method requires specialized low-load transducers that are small and lightweight. Here, we present a novel single-element US imaging system based on an acoustic mirror scanning method. Instead of physically moving the US transducer, the acoustic path is quickly steered by a water-proofed microelectromechanical (MEMS) scanner, achieving real-time imaging. Taking advantage of the low-cost and compact MEMS scanner, we implemented both a tabletop system for in vivo small animal imaging and a handheld system for in vivo human imaging. Notably, in combination with mechanical raster scanning, we could acquire the volumetric US images in live animals. This versatile US imaging system can be potentially used for various preclinical and clinical applications, including echocardiography, ophthalmic imaging, and ultrasound-guided catheterization.
Highlights
Ultrasound (US) imaging is widely used to obtain in vivo structural, functional, and molecular information based on the acoustic properties of tissue and other anatomical components in animals and humans
To overcome the limit of temporal resolution while realizing superior spatial resolution, we propose a novel single-element US imaging system based on an acoustic mirror scanning method
To steer the acoustic path, we employed a water-proofed microelectromechanical system (MEMS), a design which has been recently employed in photoacoustic microscopy and optical coherent tomography[10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24]
Summary
Ultrasound (US) imaging is widely used to obtain in vivo structural, functional, and molecular information based on the acoustic properties of tissue and other anatomical components in animals and humans. Temporal resolution is a major limitation of single-element based US imaging This modality requires only single-channel electronics and a single-element transducer, which are relatively simple, compact, and cost-effective, its real-time imaging ability is less than that of array-based US imaging. To overcome the limit of temporal resolution while realizing superior spatial resolution, we propose a novel single-element US imaging system based on an acoustic mirror scanning method. This approach steers the acoustic path more quickly than physically moving the US transducer. The acoustic steering speed is fast enough to perform real-time B-mode imaging This miniaturized and simple MEMS scanner can be deployed on various platforms. It successfully provided B-mode images of the radial artery and vein of a human volunteer including image processing in real-time without GPU parallel computing (i.e., a B-mode imaging rate of 40 Hz)
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