Configurable microbeamformer circuit for an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system

Abstract

A microbeamformer integrated circuit has sixty-lour microbeaauCormer channels which may be utilized with a 64-element or 128-element array transducer. Each microbeamformer channel includes a transmitter, a plurality of connection points for selectively coupling the transmitter to one or more transducer elements, a transmit/receive switch coupled to an output of the transmitter, and a receive channel including a variable delay. The connection points may be configured with only one connection point coupled to a transducer element, two connection points coupled to the same transducer element, or multiple connection points coupled to multiple transducer elements. The transmitter may also comprise a separate pulser coupled to each connection point. The receive channels are grouped in groups of sixteen which may be selectively coupled to one of two channel drivers to provide partially beamformed signals to the channels of a system beamformer.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.