Effects of Non-Elevation-Focalized Linear Array Transducer on Ultrasound Plane-Wave Imaging
Plane-wave ultrasound imaging (PWUS) has become an important method of ultrasound imaging in recent years as its frame rate has exceeded 10,000 frames per second, allowing ultrasound to be used for two-dimensional shear wave detection and functional brain imaging. However, compared to the traditiona...
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MDPI AG
2016-11-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/16/11/1906 |
| _version_ | 1797999870088314880 |
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| author | Congzhi Wang Yang Xiao Jingjing Xia Weibao Qiu Hairong Zheng |
| author_facet | Congzhi Wang Yang Xiao Jingjing Xia Weibao Qiu Hairong Zheng |
| author_sort | Congzhi Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plane-wave ultrasound imaging (PWUS) has become an important method of ultrasound imaging in recent years as its frame rate has exceeded 10,000 frames per second, allowing ultrasound to be used for two-dimensional shear wave detection and functional brain imaging. However, compared to the traditional focusing and scanning method, PWUS images always suffer from a degradation of lateral resolution and contrast. To improve the image quality of PWUS, many different beamforming algorithms have been proposed and verified. Yet the influence of transducer structure is rarely studied. For this paper, the influence of using an acoustic lens for PWUS was evaluated. Two linear array transducers were fabricated. One was not self-focalized in the elevation direction (non-elevation-focalized transducer, NEFT); the other one was a traditional elevation-focalized transducer (EFT). An initial simulation was conducted to show the influence of elevation focusing. Then the images obtained with NEFT on a standard ultrasound imaging phantom were compared with those obtained with EFT. It was demonstrated that, in a relatively deep region, the contrast of an NEFT image is better than that of an EFT image. These results indicate that a more sophisticated design of ultrasound transducer would further improve the image quality of PWUS. |
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-412d4c5eeccf4edeb6f4caa7696d4b10 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:11:36Z |
| publishDate | 2016-11-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-412d4c5eeccf4edeb6f4caa7696d4b102022-12-22T04:27:26ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202016-11-011611190610.3390/s16111906s16111906Effects of Non-Elevation-Focalized Linear Array Transducer on Ultrasound Plane-Wave ImagingCongzhi Wang0Yang Xiao1Jingjing Xia2Weibao Qiu3Hairong Zheng4Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, the Chinese Academy of Science, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen University Town, Xili, Nanshan, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaShenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, the Chinese Academy of Science, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen University Town, Xili, Nanshan, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaShenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, the Chinese Academy of Science, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen University Town, Xili, Nanshan, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaShenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, the Chinese Academy of Science, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen University Town, Xili, Nanshan, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaShenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, the Chinese Academy of Science, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen University Town, Xili, Nanshan, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaPlane-wave ultrasound imaging (PWUS) has become an important method of ultrasound imaging in recent years as its frame rate has exceeded 10,000 frames per second, allowing ultrasound to be used for two-dimensional shear wave detection and functional brain imaging. However, compared to the traditional focusing and scanning method, PWUS images always suffer from a degradation of lateral resolution and contrast. To improve the image quality of PWUS, many different beamforming algorithms have been proposed and verified. Yet the influence of transducer structure is rarely studied. For this paper, the influence of using an acoustic lens for PWUS was evaluated. Two linear array transducers were fabricated. One was not self-focalized in the elevation direction (non-elevation-focalized transducer, NEFT); the other one was a traditional elevation-focalized transducer (EFT). An initial simulation was conducted to show the influence of elevation focusing. Then the images obtained with NEFT on a standard ultrasound imaging phantom were compared with those obtained with EFT. It was demonstrated that, in a relatively deep region, the contrast of an NEFT image is better than that of an EFT image. These results indicate that a more sophisticated design of ultrasound transducer would further improve the image quality of PWUS.http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/16/11/1906ultrafast ultrasound imagingacoustic lensnon-elevation-focalized transducerimage contrast |
| spellingShingle | Congzhi Wang Yang Xiao Jingjing Xia Weibao Qiu Hairong Zheng Effects of Non-Elevation-Focalized Linear Array Transducer on Ultrasound Plane-Wave Imaging Sensors ultrafast ultrasound imaging acoustic lens non-elevation-focalized transducer image contrast |
| title | Effects of Non-Elevation-Focalized Linear Array Transducer on Ultrasound Plane-Wave Imaging |
| title_full | Effects of Non-Elevation-Focalized Linear Array Transducer on Ultrasound Plane-Wave Imaging |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Non-Elevation-Focalized Linear Array Transducer on Ultrasound Plane-Wave Imaging |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Non-Elevation-Focalized Linear Array Transducer on Ultrasound Plane-Wave Imaging |
| title_short | Effects of Non-Elevation-Focalized Linear Array Transducer on Ultrasound Plane-Wave Imaging |
| title_sort | effects of non elevation focalized linear array transducer on ultrasound plane wave imaging |
| topic | ultrafast ultrasound imaging acoustic lens non-elevation-focalized transducer image contrast |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/16/11/1906 |
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