A reconfigurable arbitrary waveform generator using PWM modulation for ultrasound research.
Background: In ultrasound imaging systems, the digital transmit beamformer is a critical module that generates accurate control over several transmission parameters. However, such transmit front-end module is not typically accessible to ultrasound researchers. To overcome this difficulty, we have be...
| Publicado en: | BioMedical Engineering OnLine Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 24 - 25 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
| Formato: | research Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
BioMed Central
2013
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=104269207&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 104269207 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 1475925X 1CGX jtl: BioMedical Engineering OnLine issn: 1475925X maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: 2013 vid: 12 iid: 1 pid: 24147 pub: BioMed Central artinfo: ui: 104269207 104269207 NLM23514530 2012080165 10.1186/1475-925X-12-24 NLM23514530 PMC3618258 104269207 ppf: 24 ppct: 1 formats: tig: atl: A reconfigurable arbitrary waveform generator using PWM modulation for ultrasound research. aug: au: Assef, Amauri A Maia, Joaquim M Schneider, Fábio K Button, Vera Lsn Costa, Eduardo T Button, Vera L S N affil: Electrical/Electronic Engineering Department and the Graduate School of Electrical Engineering and Applied Computer Sciences (DAELT - DAELN - CPGEI), Federal University of Technology - Paraná (UTFPR), Curitiba, PR, Brazil. amauriassef@utfpr.edu.br. sug: subj: Signal Processing, Computer Assisted Equipment and Supplies Ultrasonics Methods Equipment Design ab: Background: In ultrasound imaging systems, the digital transmit beamformer is a critical module that generates accurate control over several transmission parameters. However, such transmit front-end module is not typically accessible to ultrasound researchers. To overcome this difficulty, we have been developing a compact and fully programmable digital transmit system using the pulse-width modulation (PWM) technique for generating simultaneous arbitrary waveforms, specifically designed for research purposes.Methods: In this paper we present a reconfigurable arbitrary waveform generator (RAWG) for ultrasound research applications that exploits a high frequency PWM scheme implemented in a low-cost FPGA, taking advantage of its flexibility and parallel processing capability for independent controlling of multiple transmission parameters. The 8-channel platform consists of a FPGA-based development board including an USB 2.0 interface and an arbitrary waveform generator board with eight MD2130 beamformer source drivers for individual control of waveform, amplitude apodization, phase angle and time delay trigger.Results: To evaluate the efficiency of our system, we used equivalent RC loads (1 kΩ and 220 pF) to produce arbitrary excitation waveforms with the Gaussian and Tukey profiles. The PWM carrier frequency was set at 160 MHz featuring high resolution while keeping a minimum time delay of 3.125 ns between pulses to enable the acoustic beam to be focused and/or steered electronically. Preliminary experimental results show that the RAWG can produce complex arbitrary pulses with amplitude over 100 Vpp and central frequency up to 20 MHz with satisfactory linearity of the amplitude apodization, as well as focusing phase adjustment capability with angular resolution of 7.5°.Conclusions: The initial results of this study showed that the proposed research system is suitable for generating simultaneous arbitrary waveforms, providing extensive user control with direct digital access to the various transmission parameters needed to explore alternative ultrasound transmission techniques. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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