German scientists have developed a multichannel ultrasound platform that can be adapted to fit a variety of different applications.
Typically, ultrasound systems – for example, medical sonograms, submarine sonars, and more – are so specialized that they cannot be used outside of their intended purpose. However, in a recent press release from Fraunhofer-Gessellschaft, researcher Steffen Tretbar at Fraunhofer’s Institute for Biomedical Engineering discusses how his team’s new ultrasound system aims to combat this problem.
“Complete systems are typically developed, based on unique customer specifications. Within this context, that only allows them to be used for a very limited area,” Tretbar said. “However, the development expenditure is really quite high.”
In contrast, Tretbar’s ultrasound system, because of its modular configuration, is adaptable to a variety of different applications – for example, treatment monitoring. This is in part accomplished by keeping a number of standard parts – the main board, power supply, and control software – constant.
“This way, we can both quickly respond to customer requests for the widest array of applications, and also offer money-saving solutions,” Tretbar explained. “Then we put application specific components – the front-end boards – into this main board, like with a building-block system.”
To adapt the system to a particular task, the operator must manipulate the frequency range of the ultrasound waves via a regulating screw. For sonar systems, waves must be low-frequency, from the kilohertz range to around 2 MHz. This produces images of depths of several hundred feet, favoring breadth of vision over high resolution. On the other hand, medical sonograms require a great deal of clarity over just a couple centimeters, and utilize sound waves of a higher frequency, of about 2-20 MHz. The highest frequency waves used in sonograms, up to the 100 MHz range, are reserved for applications like materials testing and small animal imaging used in technological development. To accommodate all these different applications and wave frequencies, the researchers have created three distinct front-end boards for all three ranges.
According to Tretbar, fine-tuning the system means configuring its software.
“We have realized very fast interfaces to the PC,” Tretbar said. “This way, we can control the systems in real time, enable very swift signal processing with repeat rates in the kHz/range, and simply implement new software algorithms that have been adapted for various applications.” In fact, by referring back to the machine’s classic image data and also its unprocessed raw signals, scientists can make the ultrasound system even more customizable.
Reportedly, medical corporations have shown a great amount of interest in Tretbar’s new ultrasound system. The researchers are optimistic about the potential their product could hold for a variety of different industries.
