PE-CMOS Based C-Mode Ultrasound: Signal Acquisition and Time Gating

摘要

Two types of signal acquisition methods using CMOS sensor array coated with piezoelectric material (PE-CMOS) were studied. The laboratory projection-reflection ultrasound prototypes featuring a PE-CMOS ultrasound sensing array and an acoustic compound lens were employed to image pork bones with fractures in vitro. We found that the projection-reflection ultrasound prototypes are capable of revealing hairline bone fractures with skin in tact. However, the image characteristics generated from these C-scan prototypes are somewhat different because they were equipped with two different senor array models. The signal acquired by the first sensor model is based on an integrated signal (IS) at a given time interval. But the signal acquired by the second sensor model is based on peak signal (PS) with a time gating function controllable by the user. We found that both systems can detect bone fracture as small as 0.5mm shown as a strip of ultrasound signal. However, images obtained from the IS sensor show more speckles with a greater blooming effect on the fractures. On the other hand, images obtained from the PS sensor show less contrast with less speckles. When the beam position is slightly tilted from the normal direction, the blooming effect of the ultrasound image would become dark on the fracture region with both acquisition modes.