Receiving beam former and an ultrasonic imaging system using the same

Abstract

A receiving beamformer is provided which simultaneously generates a plurality of receiving beam signals corresponding to receiving beams of a plurality of directions on the basis of signals received by an array of vibrator elements for receiving an ultrasonic wave. This receiving beamformer includes a variable amplifying unit for amplifying the received signals in accordance with the depth of measurement to produce output signals, an A/D converting unit for converting the output signals from the variable amplifying unit into digital signals at a predetermined sampling period, a digital delay unit for receiving each of the digital signals and for producing a plurality of delayed signals corresponding to the receiving beams for each of the digital signals, and a first adding unit for adding the delayed signals corresponding to each of the receive beams and to the respective digital signals. The digital delay unit includes a first delay unit for delaying the respective digital signals at a unit delay time same as the sampling period to produce first delayed signals, and a second delay unit for delaying each of the first delayed signals at a unit delay time shorter than the sampling period to produce a plurality of delayed signals for each of the first delayed signals.