Research Ultrasound System

The ultrasound instrument will be used for ultrasound imaging method development and specialized biomedical research. The instrument needs to generate and receive broadband ultrasound waves and offers individual channel control for advanced beamforming. The instrument will support fast ultrasound image reconstruction and multiple imaging modes including B-mode, shear wave elastography (high output power needed), and Doppler. Also, the instrument will have the capability of performing flexible waveform generation for advanced acoustic based object control (e.g., cell manipulation for biomedical research).

Capabilities and specifications:

1. Broad operating frequency range
   1. Frequency ranges from 1 MHz to at least 60 MHz.

1. Customizable individual channel control and acquisition
   1. Independent per-channel amplitude (apodization), delay (phase), frequency, pulse duty cycle, polarity, and burst length control.
   2. Supports complex beamforming strategies. System requires high delay resolution (2 ns, 500 MHz) and dynamic amplitude range (16-bit digital control).
   3. Access raw rf data for customized imaging algorithms (e.g., shear wave reconstruction).
   4. High ultrasound signal sampling rate (≥250MHz).
   5. Rapid interleaving processing of focused ray lines, transmit pulse, plane wave, etc.

1. Programmable high-power transmit
   1. Pulse voltage can reach at least 190 volts peak-to-peak.
   2. Fast voltage transition time (at least 5 ns).

1. Arbitrary waveform generation
   1. Built-in software to create high-fidelity analog acoustic waveforms.
   2. Include tri-state pulser.

1. Ultra-high frame rate imaging
   1. Large channel memory (256 mb) and data transfer speeds of at least 6 GB/s.
   2. Rapid beamforming and reconstruction capability (>5000 frames per second).

1. Multi-system synchronization
   1. Capability to synchronize (with 2 ns precision) multiple units for multi-channel data acquisition.
   2. Synchronize with external devices (programmable input/output triggers).
   3. Facilitates volumetric imaging or simultaneous multi-angle scanning for complex particle manipulation studies.

1. Built-in simulation & development tools
   1. Offline simulator to test experimental scripts for B-mode, doppler, or elastography.
   2. Contain MATLAB integration including example scrips for different imaging techniques (B-mode, ultrafast, shear wave, and doppler).

1. Universal transducer adapters (UTAs)
   1. Quick transducer swaps for b-mode, doppler, and specialized arrays (adapter fits different ultrasound probes including linear, curved, and phase array). Sparse array, ring array, matrix array.
   2. Allow at least 64 individual elements to control.

1. System size
   1. Compact ultrasound system, weight

1. System upgrade
   1. System can be upgraded to support additional capabilities and features (e.g., more controllable elements, higher output power, etc.).

1. Resources
   1. Online training resources available for new users. Available technical support for scripting question and hardware maintenance.