Development and characterization of a sparse ellipsoidal 256 element array for volumetric ultrasound imaging

Fournelle, Marc; Degel, C.; Jakob, Anette; Nooijens, Sjoerd; Weber, Steffen; D'hooge, Jan; Tretbar, Steffen

doi:10.1109/ius52206.2021.9593506

Cited by 1 publication

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“…Because the element count has a direct impact on the demands of the digitization electronics, further research will aim towards the optimization of PAM reconstruction performances under the constraint of a low element count. In particular, irregular (e.g., sparse/random matrix) geometries, already having proven their potential for volumetric imaging when using a comparably low element count, will be investigated for their suitability in PAM [ 31 , 32 ]. Furthermore, the implementation of 3D-PAM for transcranial applications of therapeutic ultrasound is aimed for.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of 3D Passive Acoustic Mapping Image Metrics: Impact of Sensor Geometry and Beamforming Approach

Therre,

Fournelle,

Tretbar

2024

Sensors

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Three-dimensional passive acoustic mapping (PAM) with matrix arrays typically suffers from high demands on the receiving electronics and high computational load. In our study, we investigated, both numerically and experimentally, the influence of matrix array aperture size, element count, and beamforming approaches on defined image metrics. With a numerical Vokurka model, matrix array acquisitions of cavitation signals were simulated. In the experimental part, two 32 × 32 matrix arrays with different pitches and aperture sizes were used. After being reconstructed into 3D cavitation maps, defined metrics were calculated for a quantitative comparison of experimental and numerical data. The numerical results showed that the enlargement of the aperture from 5 to 40 mm resulted in an improvement of the full width at half maximum (FWHM) by factors of 6 and 13 (in lateral and axial dimension, respectively). A larger array sparsity influenced the point spread function (PSF) only slightly, while the grating lobe level (GLL) remained more than 12 dB below the main lobe. These results were successfully experimentally confirmed. To further reduce the GLL caused by array sparsity, we adapted a non-linear filter from optoacoustics for use in PAM. In combination with the delay, multiply, sum, and integrate (DMSAI) algorithm, the GLL was decreased by 20 dB for 64-element reconstructions, resulting in levels that were identical to the fully populated matrix reconstruction levels.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%