An Experimental Data Acquisition System for Ultrasound Imaging

An experimental digital data acquisition system for computerized ultrasound imaging studies is developed. The system requirements for the digital reconstruction of tomographic images from the envelope of ultrasound signals of several megahertz are described. To effectively digitize ultrasound signals, a new digital averager is implemented. Several consecutive ultrasound signals are averaged on a real-time base to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio, to reduce the volume of the data, and to achieve a match of data flow rates between the ultrasound signals and the usual computer input devices. The positions of the ultrasound transducers and the target are controlled by a microprocessor controller. These positions are sensed and also digitized by the averager. The averager transfers the digitized data, both the ultrasound signals and position signals, to a general-purpose computer for further data processing. Experimental data on reconstructing the cross section of a simple target from the ultrasound signals acquired by this system will be presented as an illustration.