Ultrasound Beamformer Delay and Apodization Compression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ultrasound beamformers face high data rate challenges due to the need for unique delay and apodization commands for each channel and sample, resulting in uncompressed data rates exceeding 80 Gb/s, which is difficult to manage in terms of compression and power consumption.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a system and method for compressing and decompressing delay and apodization data using an encoder and decoder, leveraging smoothness in delay and apodization profiles, with a sequencer generating and compressing profiles based on polynomial fits, and decoders decompressing using multipliers and adders, achieving a fifty times compression ratio and reducing digital circuit area and power.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If unique delay and apodization commands are provided for each channel and sample, then dynamic receive focus and image quality are improved, but data rate increases to over 80 Gb/s
Solution Approach 1:
The delay and apodization commands are segmented into two parts: a common base value applied to all channels, and individual channel-specific adjustments. This segmentation allows the majority of data to be compressed while preserving the necessary channel-specific precision for dynamic receive focus, reducing the overall data rate from over 80 Gb/s to a manageable level.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the common delay and apodization values into a single compressed data stream that is shared across all channels, rather than transmitting separate commands for each channel. This merging approach significantly reduces redundant data transmission while maintaining the ability to provide unique commands per channel when needed for focus precision.
2Loss of energy
If data compression is applied to reduce data rate, then bandwidth and power consumption are reduced, but compression complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter representation from full-precision delay and apodization values to a compressed format using base values and adjustment deltas. This parameter transformation enables efficient compression with a compression ratio of approximately 50:1 while keeping the decompression logic relatively simple, using only basic arithmetic operations like addition and multiplication.
3Ease of manufacture
If simple delta encoding is used for compression, then implementation simplicity is maintained, but compression ratio remains very low
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-calculating and transmitting base delay and apodization values that are common to all channels before the individual channel adjustments are needed. This preliminary transmission of shared information allows the system to achieve high compression ratios because the majority of the command structure is established in advance, requiring only small adjustments per channel.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for compressing and decompressing data in an ultrasound beamformer. The systems and methods include an encoder for compressing delay data based at least in part on a smoothness of a delay profile, and for compressing apodization data based at least in part on a smoothness of an apodization profile.