This paper reports on estimating the 3-D flow velocity vector of blood with ultrasound triple-beam lens transducers. The design, construction, and characterization of experimental lens transducers is described along with the theory of 3-D flow velocity estimation. A triple beam lens transducer consists of three piezoelectric elements mounted on the top surface of a lens. The lens acts to direct and focus the ultrasound from the elements such that three parallel, closely spaced ultrasound beams are generated. Blood cell scatterers are tracked as they move along the beams and from beam to beam using RF correlation techniques. Lenses from fused quartz and aluminum have been designed and fabricated, and the characteristics of the lenses along with lens design considerations and tradeoffs are discussed. The three-dimensional flow velocity vector of fluid in a blood flow phantom has been experimentally measured with an aluminum lens, indicating that the accurate estimation of the 3-D blood flow velocity vector is possible.
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