2D Transducer Array Shared Circuitry Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
The technical challenge in medical ultrasound imaging is the high cost and complexity of fabricating large two-dimensional transducer arrays due to the need for numerous individual electrical connections, which limits the number of transducers that can be included, affecting image quality.
Innovation Solution
A system and method where transducers in a two-dimensional array are coupled to shared transmit and receive circuitry via signal buses, using switch-based activation to reduce the number of individual electrical interconnects, allowing for larger arrays with reduced fabrication costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If each transducer is coupled to dedicated transmit and receive circuitry via individual electrical connections, then the transducer array can achieve high image quality through precise control, but the fabrication cost and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple transducer elements into groups that share common transmit and receive circuitry. Specifically, multiple transducers are electrically connected to shared signal generation and reception pathways, reducing the total number of individual electrical connections while maintaining the capability to control and process signals from each transducer element within the group.
Solution Approach 2:
The shared circuitry serves multiple functions: it provides transmit signals to multiple transducers and receives signals from multiple transducers. The common circuitry is designed to handle signals from different transducer groups, making it a universal interface that reduces overall system complexity while preserving individual transducer control capabilities.
2Measurement precision
If the number of transducer elements is increased to improve image quality, then better resolution is achieved, but the fabrication expense and technical difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent groups transducer elements and merges their electrical connections to shared circuitry. This allows a large number of transducers to be manufactured without proportionally increasing the number of individual electrical interconnects, thereby reducing fabrication complexity and expense while enabling high-quality imaging through the use of many transducer elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The transducer array is segmented into groups or subsets that can be independently controlled through the shared circuitry. This segmentation allows the large array to be managed in manageable units, simplifying the manufacturing process while maintaining the ability to address and control individual transducer elements within each segment.
3Ease of operation
If individual electrical interconnects are used for each transducer, then precise control of each element is achieved, but the number of connections becomes prohibitively large
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple transducer elements are merged into groups that share common electrical interconnects to transmit and receive circuitry. This merging reduces the total number of connections from being proportional to the total number of transducers to being proportional to the number of groups, making the system manageable while preserving control capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The shared circuitry acts as an intermediary between the control system and individual transducer elements. Rather than requiring direct individual connections from the control system to each transducer, the shared circuitry mediates signal distribution and collection, reducing the connection complexity while maintaining precise control through mathematical processing of the intermediate signals.
Data Source
AI summary
According to embodiments of the present technique, a system and a method for addressing transducers in a two-dimensional transducer array is disclosed. According to one aspect of the present technique, the transducers are arranged in rows and columns, and the columns are coupled to a shared transmit and receive circuitry while the rows are coupled to a row selection circuitry. In another embodiment, each transducer is coupled to a separate, dedicated transmit circuitry and the columns are coupled to a shared receive circuitry.