| Popis: |
It is widely accepted that a 2D array would be advantageous in medical ultrasound imaging. Such an array would be steerable in both the azimuth and elevation directions. One of the limitations on the practicality of 2D arrays is the electronic channel count. Simple brute force extension of conventional systems to such large systems is not practical. Increasing the number of connections to the transducer elements through the coaxial cable to the probe becomes prohibitive. Increasing the electronics of conventional beamforming systems by a factor of four or eight would be expensive and excessively power consuming. By duplexing, it is possible to double the number of effective channels, however, there is a need for further reduction in the number of channels needed to achieve a practical 2D array. |
