TY - JOUR
T1 - A Tiled Ultrasound Matrix Transducer for Volumetric Imaging of the Carotid Artery
AU - dos Santos, Djalma Simões
AU - Fool, Fabian
AU - Mozaffarzadeh, Moein
AU - Shabanimotlagh, Maysam
AU - Noothout, Emile
AU - Kim, T.
AU - Rozsa, Nuriel
AU - Vos, Hendrik J.
AU - Bosch, Johan G.
AU - Pertijs, Michiel A.P.
AU - Verweij, Martin D.
AU - de Jong, Nico
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - High frame rate three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound imaging would offer excellent possibilities for the accurate assessment of carotid artery diseases. This calls for a matrix transducer with a large aperture and a vast number of elements. Such a matrix transducer should be interfaced with an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) for channel reduction. However, the fabrication of such a transducer integrated with one very large ASIC is very challenging and expensive. In this study, we develop a prototype matrix transducer mounted on top of multiple identical ASICs in a tiled configuration. The matrix was designed to have 7680 piezoelectric elements with a pitch of 300 μm × 150 μm integrated with an array of 8 × 1 tiled ASICs. The performance of the prototype is characterized by a series of measurements. The transducer exhibits a uniform behavior with the majority of the elements working within the −6 dB sensitivity range. In transmit, the individual elements show a center frequency of 7.5 MHz, a −6 dB bandwidth of 45%, and a transmit efficiency of 30 Pa/V at 200 mm. In receive, the dynamic range is 81 dB, and the minimum detectable pressure is 60 Pa per element. To demonstrate the imaging capabilities, we acquired 3D images using a commercial wire phantom.
AB - High frame rate three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound imaging would offer excellent possibilities for the accurate assessment of carotid artery diseases. This calls for a matrix transducer with a large aperture and a vast number of elements. Such a matrix transducer should be interfaced with an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) for channel reduction. However, the fabrication of such a transducer integrated with one very large ASIC is very challenging and expensive. In this study, we develop a prototype matrix transducer mounted on top of multiple identical ASICs in a tiled configuration. The matrix was designed to have 7680 piezoelectric elements with a pitch of 300 μm × 150 μm integrated with an array of 8 × 1 tiled ASICs. The performance of the prototype is characterized by a series of measurements. The transducer exhibits a uniform behavior with the majority of the elements working within the −6 dB sensitivity range. In transmit, the individual elements show a center frequency of 7.5 MHz, a −6 dB bandwidth of 45%, and a transmit efficiency of 30 Pa/V at 200 mm. In receive, the dynamic range is 81 dB, and the minimum detectable pressure is 60 Pa per element. To demonstrate the imaging capabilities, we acquired 3D images using a commercial wire phantom.
KW - application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)
KW - carotid artery
KW - high-frame rate
KW - lead zirconate titanate (PZT)
KW - matrix array
KW - three-dimensional (3D)
KW - ultrasound imaging
KW - ultrasound transducer
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85144515529&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/s22249799
DO - 10.3390/s22249799
M3 - Article
C2 - 36560168
AN - SCOPUS:85144515529
VL - 22
JO - Sensors
JF - Sensors
SN - 1424-8220
IS - 24
M1 - 9799
ER -