A simple 2-D ultrasound array and front-end electronics for 3-D volumetric imaging

Three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound imaging has been the subject of intense recent interest. However, 3-D imaging requires 2-D planar ultrasound arrays. The fabrication techniques of such arrays are sophisticated and are currently under intensive studies in industry and in a few research labs. We present here an effective 3-D ultrasound imaging system consists of a simple 2-D piezoelectric (PZT) array and low noise front-end electronics. Imaging is obtained by using a synthetic beamforming algorithm and imaging quantity is improved by incorporating a phase deaberration algorithm. The algorithm compensates time-delay errors introduced primarily by the imperfect geometry of the array. The system has good signal to noise ratio and can be used in research applications for demonstrating principles of 3-D imaging related techniques