Multiplexed array transducers with improved far-field performance
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorDouglas Glenn Wildes
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A multiplexer for connecting a beamformer to a multi-row transducer array, where the transducer array has more electrically independent elements than the beamformer has channels, enables dynamic selection and beamforming control of multi-row apertures. The multiplexer allows the active aperture to be scanned along at least one axis of the array and allows the shape of the active aperture to be varied electronically. The multiplexer supports transmit and receive apertures appropriate for synthetic aperture beamforming. The multiplexer is designed so that each system beamformer channel may be connected to a single transducer element for near-field imaging and to a pair of adjacent transducer elements for far-field imaging.
Claims21
Apparatus for multiplexing transducers, comprising:
- a transducer array comprising first and second rows of transducer elements, each of said first and second rows comprising a respective multiplicity of said transducer elements;
- a beamformer comprising a multiplicity of beamformer channels numbered in sequence to form a cycle length;
- a multiplicity of switches for multiplexing imaging data between said transducer elements of said first and second rows and said beamformer channels;
- and
- a controller for selectively configuring said switches in response to receipt of a multiplexer state command,
- wherein beamformer channel to transducer element assignments are arranged so that in a first multiplexer state a first subset of the transducer elements in said first row and a first subset of the transducer elements in said second row can be switchably coupled to said beamformer channels in one-to-one relationship to form a part of a first aperture, and in a second multiplexer state a second subset of the transducer elements in said first row and a second subset of the transducer elements in said second row can be switchably connected to said beamformer channels in two-to-one relationship and with pairs of azimuthally adjacent transducer elements in each of said first and second rows being connected to the same respective beamformer channel to form a part of a second aperture.
An apparatus comprising:
- a transducer array comprising first through fourth rows of transducer elements, each of said first through fourth rows comprising a respective multiplicity of said transducer elements;
- a beamformer comprising a multiplicity of beamformer channels numbered in sequence to form a cycle length;
- a multiplicity of switches for multiplexing imaging data between said transducer elements of said first through fourth rows and said beamformer channels;
- and
- a controller for selectively configuring said switches in response to receipt of a multiplexer state command,
- wherein beamformer channel to transducer element assignments for each of said first through fourth rows comprise first through fourth sets of sequential channel assignments which have identical order and cycle length, but which are mutually offset by one-quarter of the cycle length to allow, in a first multiplexer state a respective subset of the transducer elements in each of said first through fourth rows to be switchably coupled to said beamformer channels in one-to-one relationship to form a first aperture.
A method for operating an ultrasound imaging system including a multiplicity of beamformer channels numbered in order to form a cycle length and a transducer array including first and second rows of transducer elements, comprising the steps of:
- assigning each transducer element of said first and second rows to at least one of said beamformer channels, each beamformer channel to transducer element assignment being provided by a respective connection having a switch which can be selectively controlled to be in an open state or a closed state, wherein in a first multiplexer state a first subset of the transducer elements in said first row and a first subset of the transducer elements in said second row can be switchably coupled to said beamformer channels in one-to-one relationship to form a part of a first aperture, and in a second multiplexer state a second subset of the transducer elements in said first row and a second subset of the transducer elements in said second row can be switchably coupled to said beamformer channels in two-to-one relationship with pairs of azimuthally adjacent transducer elements in each of said first and second rows being coupled to the same respective beamformer channel to form a part of a second aperture;
- selectively closing a first multiplicity of switches in response to a first command indicating said first multiplexer state;
- and
- selectively closing a second multiplicity of switches in response to a second command indicating said second multiplexer state.
A method for operating an ultrasound imaging system including a multiplicity of beamformer channels numbered in order to form a cycle length and a transducer array including first through fourth rows of transducer elements, comprising the steps of:
- assigning each transducer element of said first through fourth rows to at least one of said beamformer channels, each beamformer channel to transducer element assignment being provided by a respective connection having a switch which can be selectively controlled to be in an open state or a closed state, wherein the beamformer channel to transducer element assignments for each of said first through fourth rows respectively comprise first through fourth sets of sequential channel assignments which have identical order and cycle length, but which are mutually offset by one-quarter of the cycle length;
- and
- switchably coupling a respective subset of the transducer elements in each of said first through fourth rows to said beamformer channels in one-to-one relationship to form a first aperture.
Apparatus for mutiplexing transducers, comprising:
- a transducer array having at least one row of transducer elements;
- a beamformer including a multiplicity of beamformer channels numbered in sequence to form a cycle length;
- a multiplicity of switches for multiplexing imaging data between said transducer elements of said at least one row and said beamformer channels;
- and
- a controller for selectively configuring said switches in response to receipt of a multiplexer state command,
- wherein beamformer channel to transducer element assignments are arranged so that in a first multiplexer state a first subset of the transducer elements in said at least one row can be switchably coupled to said beamformer channels in one-to-one relationship to form a part of a first aperture, and in a second multiplexer state a second subset of the transducer elements in said at least one row can be switchably connected to said beamformer channels in two-to-one relationship and with pairs of azimuthally adjacent transducer elements in said at least one row being connected to the same respective beamformer channel to form a part of a second aperture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.