A fast algorithm to calculate ultrasound pressure fields from single-element transducers

Area of Science:

• Acoustics
• Ultrasound Technology
• Computational Physics

Background:

• Accurate calculation of acoustic fields is crucial for transducer design and application.
• Existing numerical methods for beam profile calculation can be computationally intensive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a fast algorithm for calculating the beam profile of a single-element circular transducer.
• To assess the algorithm's accuracy across the entire acoustic field, including near and far zones.

Main Methods:

• An efficient algorithm was developed for beam profile computation.
• The algorithm's performance was compared against a standard 96-point Gaussian quadrature routine.
• Pressure calculations were performed across various points in the transducer's acoustic field.

Main Results:

• The algorithm accurately computes pressure across the entire acoustic field, including near-field and off-axis points.
• The developed algorithm is significantly faster than existing direct numerical methods.
• Lateral beam profiles generated by the fast algorithm closely match those from the Gaussian quadrature method.

Conclusions:

• The novel algorithm provides a computationally efficient and accurate solution for single-element circular transducer beam profile calculations.
• This method offers a practical alternative for real-time acoustic field analysis and transducer optimization.