What is beam steering in ultrasound?
Beam steering refers to altering the angle of the ultrasound beam with respect to the transducer without moving the probe. Beam steering allows a point on an image to be insonated from multiple angles from a single probe and a single position of the probe.
How is the sound beam steered when using a phased array transducer?
As shown in Figure 4, in addition to electronic focusing, the beam can be steered toward different directions by adjusting the firing delays to expand the FOV beyond the lateral footprint of the transducer. The crystals are then ‘phased’ along one direction. This technology is called electronic beam steering.
What is linear array in ultrasound?
Ultrasound transducers that produce images via linear array typically contain 256-512 elements, making them the largest assembly. Each element produces a scan line that makes up the ultrasound image. Multiple adjacent elements combine to produce an ultrasound beam that is emitted at 90 degrees to the transducer head.
What is beam steering used for?
In acoustics, beam steering is used to direct the audio from loudspeakers to a specific location in the listening area. This is done by changing the magnitude and phase of two or more loudspeakers installed in a column where the combined sound is added and cancelled at the required position.
How does an annular array transducer steer the ultrasound beam?
Annular phased array transducers focus sound beams in all planes and at all depths. *These transducers steer the beam with a motor and focus the beam with an acoustic lens or a curved PZT element.
What is linear array used for?
The linear array is the transducer of choice for obstetrics, gynecology, breast, superficial structures including MSK, and vascular applications (if duplex spectral Doppler is available).
What is a phased array probe used for?
Phased array is widely used for nondestructive testing (NDT) in several industrial sectors, such as construction, pipelines, and power generation. This method is an advanced NDT method that is used to detect discontinuities i.e. cracks or flaws and thereby determine component quality.