Full-array digital 3D ultrasound imaging system integrated with a matrix array transducer

A system comprising

• a matrix array of Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasound Transducer (pMUT) transducer elements;
• and
• an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) upon which the matrix array of pMUT transducer elements are assembled, wherein an area of the ASIC matches an area of the matrix array of pMUT transducer elements, and wherein the ASIC comprises:
• at least one delay and weight computer;
• a plurality of sets of electronic elements, wherein each set of electronic elements is coupled with a different pMUT transducer element of the matrix array and comprises a pulser, an amplifier, an analog-to-digital converter, and circuitry;
• wherein:
• (a) the pulsers are configured to cause an independently delayed and weighted pulse to be transmitted from each of the pMUT transducer elements;
• (b) the amplifiers are configured to amplify receive signals of each pMUT transducer element;
• (c) the analog-to-digital converters are configured to digitize the amplified receive signal of each pMUT transducer array element;
• and
• (d) the circuitries are configured to apply a varying independent delay and weight on each of the amplified and digitized receive signals;
• and
• a summer configured to sum, across all pMUT transducer elements, the amplified, digitized, delayed, and weighted receive signals to form a focused receive beam;
• wherein pMUT-transducer-element-specific transmit delays and weights used by (a) and pMUT-transducer-element-specific varying independent receive delays and weights used by (d) are computed in real-time by at least one delay and weight computer.