Virtual Microphone Tracking for Ultrasound Phased Array Pressure Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for calculating acoustic pressure from an ultrasound phased array are inefficient and fail to accurately estimate pressure at varying focus points, leading to potential hotspots and inconsistent regulation.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a virtual microphone system that updates field estimates by reusing transducer contributions and employing moving averages, dual or N-mic arrangements, and PID control to efficiently track and regulate acoustic pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If existing methods are used to calculate acoustic pressure from an ultrasound phased array, then computational resources are consumed, but the estimation accuracy and efficiency are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual microphone that copies the functionality of a physical microphone by mathematically synthesizing its response from the phased array transducer contributions. This virtual microphone provides accurate acoustic pressure estimates without requiring actual physical microphones, resolving the contradiction by achieving measurement precision through computational modeling rather than physical measurement
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-calculates and stores the contribution of each transducer to various points in space before actual operation. When focusing at a specific point, the virtual microphone pressure is quickly obtained by summing pre-computed transducer contributions, avoiding the need for complex real-time calculations and improving computational efficiency while maintaining accuracy
2Adaptability or versatility
If the focus point moves to new locations, then the system can adapt to different targets, but the computational overhead increases and regulation becomes inconsistent
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual microphone is designed to be universally applicable at any focus point location within the ultrasound field. The same virtual microphone structure and calculation methodology work regardless of where the focus point is positioned, providing consistent acoustic pressure estimation and regulation functionality across different spatial locations without increasing system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically updates the virtual microphone position to follow the moving focus point. By continuously recalculating the virtual microphone response at new focus locations using the same efficient methodology, the system adapts to different targets while maintaining consistent computational overhead and regulation performance
Data Source
AI summary
Estimating the field strength from an ultrasonic phased array can be done by summing the contribution of each transducer to the point of interest. Since this contribution is already calculated when creating a converging spherical wave, it can be reused to add a virtual microphone to the system. By monitoring this microphone and moving it along with new focus points, a robust system of field estimates and regulation may be established.