Ultrasound imaging with multiple single-element transducers and ultrasound signal propagation correction using delay and sum beamforming based on a cross-correlation function

Abstract

A method includes receiving first electrical signals from a first single-element transducer () and second electrical signals from a second single-element transducer (). The transducers are disposed on a shaft (), which has a longitudinal axis (), of an ultrasound imaging probe () with transducing sides disposed transverse to and facing away from the longitudinal axis. The transducers are angularly offset from each other on the shaft by a non-zero angle. The transducers are operated at first and second different cutoff frequencies. The shaft concurrently translates and rotates while the transducers receive the first and second ultrasound signals. The method further includes delay and sum beamforming, with first and second beamformers (), the first and second electrical signals, respectively via different processing chains (), employing an adaptive synthetic aperture technique, producing first and second images. The method further includes combining the first and second images, creating a final image, and displaying the final image.