Increasing ultrasound field-of-view with reduced element count arrays containing large elements

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that increasing element width in ultrasound arrays, using coupled elements, can expand the field of view without increasing element count, while analyzing effects on resolution and image quality.

Contribution

The paper introduces a method to increase ultrasound array FOV by using coupled large elements, validated through theoretical analysis and imaging experiments.

Findings

Coupled elements approximate large element behavior in pressure and bandwidth.

NSI beamformer significantly reduces FWHM of targets with coupling.

MV beamformer maintains speckle statistics while improving resolution.

Abstract

Several applications of medical ultrasound can benefit from a larger field of view (FOV). This study is aimed at increasing the FOV of linear array probes by increasing the element width. Coupled elements were used to imitate a larger element width. Through Fourier analysis, theoretical pressure amplitudes, and bandwidth estimates, coupled elements are shown to be close approximations of large elements. The effects of coupling on resolution, contrast, and speckle signal-to-noise ratio are investigated through phantom images and in-vivo images of a rabbit tumor reconstructed with plane-wave compounding. Furthermore, a positioning system was used to acquire data from a virtual large aperture with 120 mm FOV and 128 elements, collected in sections with a single probe. The Null Subtraction Imaging (NSI), Sign Coherence Factor (SCF), and Minimum Variance (MV) beamformers are compared for regaining resolution lost by an increased F-number. The NSI beamformer decreased Full-Width at Half-Max (FWHM) estimates of wire targets by 79% with coupling by 2 compared to uncoupled DAS. The MV beamformer was best for maintaining speckle statistics while improving resolution. Our results demonstrate how increased element width can increase FOV with no increase to element count.