Integrated circuit beamformer for high frequency array

High frequency (10-150 MHz) ultrasound has been used successfully in many medical applications, including eye, skin, gastrointestinal, intravascular and Doppler flow imaging. For the most part these applications rely on the use of single element transducers, which impose a tradeoff between resolution and depth of field. Fabrication difficulties and the need for high speed electronic beamformers have prevented widespread use of arrays at high frequencies. Here, the authors discuss the development of an integrated circuit beamformer for a 5 element 40 MHz annular array. The beamformer can be used to dynamically focus the array over an axial range from f/2.7 to f/5.4