Integrated Transceivers for Emerging Medical Ultrasound Imaging Devices: A Review

被引：17
作者：
Chen, Chao [1 ]
Pertijs, Michiel A. P. [1 ]
机构：
[1] Electronic Instrumentation Laboratory, Delft University of Technology, Delft
来源：
IEEE Open Journal of the Solid-State Circuits Society | 2021年 / 1卷
关键词：
analog front-ends; high-voltage pulsers; in-probe digitization; low-noise amplifiers; timegain compensation; Ultrasound imaging;
D O I：
10.1109/OJSSCS.2021.3115398
中图分类号：
学科分类号：
摘要：
As medical ultrasound imaging moves from conventional cart-based scanners to new form factors such as imaging catheters, hand-held point-of-care scanners and ultrasound patches, there is an increasing need for integrated transceivers that can be closely integrated with the transducer to provide channel-count reduction, improved signal quality and even full digitization. This paper reviews compact and power-efficient circuit solutions for such transceivers. It starts with a brief overview of ultrasound transducer technologies and the operating principles of the ultrasound transmit-receive signal path. For transmission, high-voltage pulsers are reviewed, from compact unipolar pulsers to multi-level pulsers that provide amplitude control and improved power efficiency. The review of receive circuits starts with low-noise amplifiers as the power- and performance-limiting building block. Solutions for time-gain compensation are discussed, which are essential to reduce signal dynamic range by compensating for the decaying echo-signal amplitude associated with propagation attenuation. Finally, the option of direct digitization of the echo signal at the transducer is discussed. The paper ends with a reflection on future opportunities and challenges in the area of integrated circuits for ultrasound applications. © 2021 IEEE.
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页码：104 / 114
页数：10
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