A compact and reconfigurable 8-channel Ultrasound Evaluation System for experimental research

Although new ultrasound (US) signal processing techniques can be designed and evaluated from simulations tools or adapting commercial clinical scanners with research interfaces, the development of novel applications also may require the development of dedicated electronic systems for research purposes. There is a need for open and cost-effective US architectures with more flexibility to enable students and researchers to reprogram and reconfigure the transmission (Tx) and reception (Rx) modules. In this paper, we present a compact and reconfigurable 8-channel FPGA and PC-based Ultrasound Evaluation System (UES) suitable for pulse-echo experiments using high-level commercial modules and specialized integrated circuits. The Tx module can excite 8 channels independently with programmable multilevel arbitrary waveforms. The Rx segment can handle simultaneously the acquisition of 8 channels with sampling rate up to 50 MHz and 12-bit resolution. The preliminary results show that the proposed system can aid researchers to develop and evaluate novel US applications and can be used as an educational tool in biomedical engineering courses.