Monolithic ultrasonic imaging device, system and method

Abstract

To implement a single-chip ultrasound imaging solution, on-chip signal processing can be employed in the receive signal path to reduce data bandwidth, and high-speed serial data blocks can be used to move data from all received channels off-chip as digital data streams . Digitizing the received signal on-chip enables advanced digital signal processing on-chip, allowing complete integration of the entire ultrasound imaging system on a single semiconductor substrate. Various novel waveform generation techniques, transducer configurations, biasing methods, etc. are similarly disclosed. The HIFU approach may additionally or alternatively be employed as part of the "ultrasound on a chip" solution disclosed herein.

Description

[0001] Cross References to Related Applications [0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61 / 798,851, entitled "MONOLITHIC ULTRASONIC IMAGING DEVICES, SYSTEMS AND METHODS," filed March 15, 2013, in its entirety The contents are incorporated herein by reference. technical field [0003] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to devices, systems, and methods for imaging and / or therapy (eg, ultrasound imaging and / or processing techniques). For example, certain aspects of the architecture and techniques disclosed herein enable the integration of an entire ultrasound imaging system on a single semiconductor substrate. Accordingly, many of the features and methods described herein relate to single-chip ultrasound imaging solutions, or to devices and systems in which at least multiple portions of an ultrasound imaging system are disposed on a single chip. Background technique [0004] Conventional ultrasound scanners have har...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, ultrasound imaging solutions using CMUT arrays proposed so far employ conventional architectures and signal processing paradigms, and thus suffer from severe limitations and drawbacks

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