Beamforming method and apparatus, and medical imaging system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9304192-B2
Application number	US-201213455750-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 25, 2012
Priority date	Apr 26, 2011
Publication date	Apr 5, 2016
Grant date	Apr 5, 2016

Abstract

A beamforming method includes generating a control signal for implementing a delay time for each of a plurality of transducers of each of a plurality of two-dimensional (2D) transducer-arrays, transmitting the control signal to a plurality of driving units respectively corresponding to the plurality of 2D transducer-arrays via an interposer that electrically connects the plurality of 2D transducer-arrays to each other, and driving each 2D transducer-array of the plurality of 2D transducer-arrays with a corresponding driving unit of the plurality of driving units according to the control signal transmitted via the interposer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A beamforming apparatus comprising:
two-dimensional (2D) transducer-arrays, each 2D transducer-array comprising transducers in which analog beamforming is performed in a first direction of the 2D transducer-array and digital beamforming is performed in a second direction of the 2D transducer-array;
an interposer configured to electrically connect the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays to each other;
a controller configured to
generate a control signal for implementing a delay time for the transducers of one or more of the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays; and
output the control signal to the interposer; and

driving units corresponding to the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays, each driving unit being configured to
receive the control signal from the interposer; and
drive a corresponding the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-array of the 2D transducer-arrays according to the control signal, wherein the interposer is between the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays and the driving units corresponding to the 2D transducer-arrays.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each 2D transducer-array has a structure enabling the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays to be arranged in a form of tiles;
each driving unit is disposed below a corresponding 2D transducer-array, and has a size enabling the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays to be arranged in the form of tiles; and
the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays are arranged in the form of tiles.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each driving unit comprises delayers corresponding to the transducers of a corresponding 2D transducer-array of the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays; and
each delayer is configured to
delay a signal to be transmitted from a corresponding transducer; and
delay a signal received by the corresponding transducer.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the transducers of the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays are arranged in rows of transducers and columns of transducers;
each delayer comprises delay lines configured to implement a transmitting delay time and a receiving delay time equal to the transmitting delay time for the corresponding transducer according to the control signal; and
the controller generates the control signal to implement a same transmitting delay time and a same receiving delay time for the transducers in one row of transducers or the transducers in one column of transducers to perform analog beamforming.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the delay lines comprise N sequentially arranged delay lines configured to implement a delay time of up to a minimum delay time period to the power of N, wherein N is an integer equal to or greater than ‘0’.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein each delayer further comprises switch devices corresponding to the delay lines and each of the switch devices are disposed at an input terminal of a corresponding delay line;
each switch device is configured to selectively use or not use a corresponding delay line in implementing the transmitting delay time and the receiving delay time according to the control signal;
the controller generates the control signal to control the switch devices; and
the interposer transmits the control signal to the switch devices.

7. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein each driving unit further comprises switch devices corresponding to the delayers; and
each switch device is connected to an output terminal of a corresponding delayer, and is configured to:
switch a delayed signal output from the corresponding delayer to a first output of the switch device if the delayed signal is the delayed signal to be transmitted; and
switch the delayed signal output from the corresponding delayer to a second output of the switch device if the delayed signal is the delayed received signal.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the transducers of each of the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays are arranged in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction; and
the apparatus is configured to perform analog beamforming in the horizontal direction and digital beamforming in the vertical direction, or to perform digital beamforming in the horizontal direction and analog beamforming in the vertical direction.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising a digital beamformer configured to perform the digital beamforming on results outputted from the driving units representing a receiving beam formed by performing the analog beamforming.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to generate a control signal to implement a same delay time for digital beamforming for transducers disposed in the direction in which the analog beamforming is performed, and a control signal to implement a same delay time for analog beamforming for transducers disposed in the direction in which digital beamforming is performed.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the interposer comprises a synthesizer configured to synthesize signals synthesized and outputted from the driving units.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each 2D transducer-array of the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays comprises a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (cMUT); and
each driving unit comprises an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

13. A beamforming method for two-dimensional (2D) transducer-arrays, the method comprising:
performing analog beamforming in a first direction and performing digital beamforming in a second direction of each of the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays;
generating a control signal for implementing a delay time for transducers of one or more of the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays;
transmitting the control signal to one or more driving units corresponding to the one or more of the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays via an interposer that electrically connects the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays to each other; and
driving the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays with a corresponding driving unit of the driving units according to the control signal transmitted via the interposer, wherein the interposer is between the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays and the driving units corresponding to the two-dimensional (2D) transducer arrays transducer-arrays.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein each driving unit comprises delayers corresponding to the transducers of a corresponding 2D transducer-array; and
the driving of each 2D transducer-array comprises
delaying a signal to be transmitted from each of the transducers with a corresponding delayer; and
delaying a signal received by each of the transducers with the corresponding delayer.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein each delayer comprises delay lines configured to implement a transmitting delay time and a receiving delay time for a corresponding transducer according to the control signal, and switch devices corresponding to the delay lines and each of the switch devices is disposed at an input terminal of a corresponding delay line, and
each switch device is configured to selectively use or not use a corresponding delay line in implementing the transmitting delay time and the receiving delay time according to the control signal.

16. The method

Assignees

• Song Jong-Keun
• Cho Kyung-Il
• Kim Dong-Wook
• Kim Bae-Hyung
• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Song Jong-Keun
• Cho Kyung-Il
• Kim Dong-Wook
• Kim Bae-Hyung

Classifications

• G10K11/346

  using phase variation · CPC title

• G01S7/52019 Primary

  Details of transmitters · CPC title

• A61B8/00 Primary

  Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves · CPC title

• G01N29/24

  Probes {(transducers for acoustic waves B06B, G10K; for measuring G01H)} · CPC title