ABSTRACT
Multidimensional imaging and recent developments A majority of conventional ultrasonic imaging systems are equipped with a variety of probes, including linear arrays of different frequencies, phased arrays, and Doppler transducers, for performing required imaging functions and measurements. Despite that numerous improvements have been made in sharpening the image and eliminating artifacts, problems caused by a lack of focusing on the elevational plane or control of slice thickness remain. One glaring example is the degradation of image contrast outside of elevational focus. In order to alleviate this problem, 2D array is the ultimate solution (Light et al., 1998; Smith et al., 2002). Unfortunately, for a 128-element by 128-element 2D array, the electronic channel and cable count would be enormously large, expansive, and very difficult, if not impossible, to manage. As an intermediate step, multidimensional arrays such as 1.25D, 1.5D, and 1.75D have been developed to partially solve the slice thickness problem. One central issue encountered in all multiple dimensional arrays is that more time is needed for data acquisition and signal processing. Current scanners almost exclusively take the approach in which a pulse is transmitted only after all the echoes within the field of view have been received. To gain additional time without sacrificing image quality, the capability of parallel processing is essential.
