Portable low-cost 32-channel ultrasound research system

We developed a portable low cost ultrasound research system. It provides access to pre-beamformed channel data from 32 channels and custom algorithms can be integrated into the real-time processing pipeline. Communication with a PC/tablet is realized with a standard USB-C interface. Up to 300 frames/s of pre-beamformed channel data can be transferred with a sampling rate of 40 MSa/s (@12 bit). Software interfaces and an SDK are available for integration in third party applications. The system's imaging performance was characterized with a 2,9 MHz 32 element phased array transducer. A lateral resolution in the range of 800 μm was measured on phantoms. An image depths of 16 cm could be confirmed on a CIRS multipurpose phantom and in vivo (imaging of the bladder on volunteers).