A Prototype System With Custom-Designed RX ICs for Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Imaging
• Electrical Engineering

Background:

• Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) imaging requires advanced electronics for signal processing.
• Ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) generate harmonic signals crucial for CEUS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a prototype multichannel receiving integrated circuit (RX IC) for CEUS imaging.
• To assess the impact of analog front-end (AFE) bandpass filtering on image resolution and quality.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of an RX IC in 40-nm CMOS technology with an analog multiplexer and on-chip protection.
• In vitro acoustic experiments and phantom studies using UCAs.
• Evaluation of spatial resolution and contrast-to-noise ratio with AFE bandpass filtering and pulse inversion (PI).

Main Results:

• AFE bandpass filtering combined with PI improved lateral resolution by up to 38%.
• AFE bandpass filtering enhanced dynamic range utilization and generalized contrast-to-noise ratio.
• The developed system demonstrated reliable performance under stress tests.

Conclusions:

• The prototype RX IC with AFE bandpass filtering is effective for CEUS imaging.
• The system offers improved spatial resolution and image quality compared to conventional methods.
• This technology holds promise for advancing CEUS diagnostic capabilities.