Strategies for data acquisition using ultrasonic phased arrays

Area of Science:

• Ultrasonic phased array technology
• Non-destructive evaluation
• Medical imaging

Background:

• Ultrasonic phased arrays offer significant advantages in various fields.
• Full Matrix Capture (FMC) provides maximum data but is slow and generates large datasets.
• Efficient data acquisition is crucial for real-time applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an optimal data acquisition strategy for ultrasonic phased arrays.
• To minimize array measurements without information loss.
• To leverage the inherent sparse structure of FMC data.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the sparse structure within FMC datasets under single scattering assumptions.
• Derivation of an analytical relationship between measurement count, steering angle, and signal-to-noise ratio.
• Experimental validation of the derived analytical model.

Main Results:

• FMC datasets exhibit a sparse structure exploitable for optimized acquisition.
• An analytical model quantifies the trade-off between measurement number, angular aperture, and SNR.
• Optimal emission count decreases with increasing array angular aperture.
• Plane wave imaging data are equivalent to FMC but require significantly fewer firings.

Conclusions:

• The sparse nature of FMC data enables efficient acquisition strategies.
• Optimized acquisition significantly reduces data volume and processing time.
• Plane wave imaging offers a computationally efficient alternative to FMC.