Evolution of high-intensity focusing systems for different applications in medicine (Review)

The evolution of high-intensity focusing systems for application in medicine has been outlined from their introduction (in the 1950s) to date. This work is in fact a review with two sections. The focusing systems for medical application discussed under the first section are based on using single focusing transducers with a radiating element shaped as a section of a spherical shell. Attention is mainly given to the devices developed at the Andreev Acoustics Institute in the 1970s–1980s; focusing systems developed abroad in the past few decades and most widely clinically used are also briefly discussed there. The second section of the review is devoted to focusing systems based on phased arrays which allow users not only to electronically steer the focus within a selected range, but also, especially importantly for various medical applications, to simultaneously create several foci. The main attention under the second section is given to the two-dimensional phased arrays with randomized location of elements on the surface, which the Acoustics Institute developed in active collaboration with others. It has been shown that irregularity in the location of elements either substantially improves the quality of spatial intensity distributions by reducing the level of secondary maxima of intensity in the array-induced fields or allows to considerably reduce the number of elements in the array with the same quality of distributions. The paper discusses principles of designing such arrays, methods of their calculations and possible applications.     

超声相控阵距离幅度曲线计算方法

超声相控阵偏转聚焦声场能量分布不均匀,造成不同位置的缺陷回波幅度差异,针对该缺陷量化问题,提出超声相控阵系统距离幅度曲线理论计算方法。在非近轴近似声场模型的基础上,结合缺陷散射模型来建立相控阵系统测量模型,再利用该方法来预测不同位置横通孔缺陷的回波信号,进而获得信号幅度随位置的变化曲线。分析对比了不同偏转聚焦声束理论计算结果与实验测量结果,两者幅度在焦点附近具有较好的一致性,偏差在5%以内,验证了超声测量模型计算方法的有效性。      

平面相控阵的尺寸对声波聚焦效果的影响

对平面相控阵加上一定的时间延迟即可实现声波的聚焦的性质进行了研究，推出了平面相控阵的空间声压分布表达式，并采用数值分析法，探讨了相控阵的尺寸对声波聚焦效果的影响。为进一步研究相控阵打下了基础。     

经颅超声聚焦方法和声场特性研究

基于高分辨的CT数据建立了非均匀颅骨仿真模型,该模型引入了颅骨的声衰减系数,深入研究和分析了声波时间反转法和超声相控阵法在颅脑中的聚焦方法及效果。颅骨具有较强的声波衰减特性,使用时间反转聚焦时需要进行幅度补偿,对于0.7MHz的频率信号,幅度补偿后的时间反转聚焦声场主瓣宽度窄、旁瓣低,焦点处声场比无幅度补偿的时间反转法提高8.86dB,比超声相控阵聚焦法提高7.89dB,具有很好的空间聚焦精度和聚焦效率。研究了颅骨衰减系数、声场焦点位置、声波频率、换能器阵列位置和方位等参数对聚焦声场的影响,结果表明,幅度补偿时间反转法比相控阵法具有更低的旁瓣,且高频时的聚焦效果比相控阵好,相控阵聚焦对换能器阵列的位置和方位比较敏感,而时间反转经颅超声聚焦对声传播路径和入射角具有更高的鲁棒性。      

Non-integral dimensions ultrasonic phased arrays in a borehole

The non-integral dimensions ultrasonic phased arrays and their scanning and testing methods in a borehole are studied. First, the focusing acoustic fields excited by the 1.25D, 1.5D, and 1.75D phased arrays are analyzed, and then the imaging resolution in the elevation direction and the influence of the dynamic elements are investigated. Second, the focusing and deflexion characteristics of the acoustic fields excited by the annular and segmented annular phased arrays are studied, and they are compared with those excited by the 2D surface array. The application method of the 1.25D, 1.5D, and 1.75D, annular and segmented annular phased arrays in acoustic logging are analyzed and discussed. It provides a theoretical foundation for the application of the ultrasonic phased arrays in acoustic logging.     

剪切波对时间反转调相的经颅聚焦超声的影响*

为研究颅骨中的剪切波对经颅聚焦超声的影响,该文利用Kelvin-Voigt固体声波方程并结合时间反转法,分别模拟了考虑剪切波和不考虑剪切波时,256-单元平面相控阵为实现超声经颅聚焦所需的相位调控,并将这两种相位调控都分别作用于考虑剪切波和不考虑剪切波时的聚焦情形。对这两种相位调控以及基于它们的经颅聚焦超声场的对比分析结果表明:聚焦深度较大时,剪切波对基于时间反转进行的相位调控影响较小;不过,剪切波对经颅聚焦超声场的强度分布影响较大,忽略剪切波会导致对焦域处声场聚焦强度的高估以及对颅骨附近声能量沉积的低估。     

The focus steering for high intensity focused ultrasound phased array based on real-time phase shift calculation

When time reversal technique is used in phased array high intensity focused ultrasound system to obtain self-adaptive focusing,it is needed to calculate the initial phases of the elements.Because of the frequency oscillation when the phase lock loop is initiated,different results are got in different segments using conventional methods.A method of calculating the phase difference was presented,that can display the changes of phase difference in real-time, and the steady phase differences can be regarded as the initial phases of the elements.The experimental results show that using the phase difference obtained by this method can get a better distribution of sound field in a certain spatial region.     

时间反演聚焦经颅磁声电刺激仿真与实验研究*

无创脑神经调控技术是生物医学领域的研究热点,经颅磁声电刺激是利用静磁场和声场的耦合而产生的感应电场作用于神经组织,对大脑的目标位置进行刺激和调控的一项技术。颅骨的存在使超声在传播过程中发生相位畸变和幅值衰减,聚焦区域偏离,难以实现精准聚焦。该文基于时间反演法,模拟颅内点声源发射脉冲以及超声传播过程,计算各个阵元接收到的时间差,按照后到先发的原则发射脉冲进行聚焦刺激。与传统相控阵聚焦相比,焦点偏移现象基本得到解决,焦域横向、纵向分辨率均有所提高,提高了声束聚焦精度和感应电场峰值。通过搭建实验平台,将两种聚焦方法所测得的声场归一化处理,验证了时间反演法能补偿焦点偏移,并通过实验证实了超声换能器声场和产生感应电场分布存在较高的一致性。基于真实颅脑结构的虚拟点源时间反演聚焦可以实现无创、精准、灵活的经颅磁声电刺激,有助于推动精准神经调控技术的发展。     

基于相位差实时计算法实现相控式高强度超声聚焦

利用时间反转法对相控阵高强聚焦超声系统进行自适应聚焦,需要计算出各阵元的初始发射相位。锁相环电路初始工作时频率有震荡,用常规计算相位差的方法当截取数据的时间段不同时计算出的相位差不相同。提出一种计算相位差的方法,可以实时显示相位差的变化,将稳定后的相位差作为相控阵聚焦系统各发射阵元的初始相位。实验结果表明,用此方法计算的相位差进行聚焦可以在一定空间范围内得到较好的声场分布。      

Phased array focusing with guided waves in a viscoelastic coated hollow cylinder

Guided wave phased array focusing has shown many advantages in long-range pipeline inspection, such as, longer inspection distance, greater wave penetration power and higher detection resolution. Viscoelastic coatings applied to a large percentage of pipes for protection purposes created some challenges in terms of focusing feasibility and inspection ability. Previous studies were all based on bare pipe models. In this work, guided wave phased array focusing in viscoelastic coated pipes is studied for the first time. Work was carried out with both numerical and experimental methods. A three-dimensional finite element model was developed for quantitatively and systematically modeling guided waves in pipes with different viscoelastic materials. A method of transforming measured coating properties to finite element method inputs was created in order to create a physically based model of guided waves in coated pipes. Guided wave focusing possibilities in viscoelastic coated pipes and the effects from coatings were comprehensively studied afterwards. A comparison of focusing and nonfocusing inspections was also studied quantitatively in coated pipe showing that focusing increased the wave energy and consequently the inspection ability tremendously. This study provides an important base line and guidance for guided wave propagation and focusing in a real field pipeline under various coating and environmental conditions.     

Analytical method for evaluating the quality of acoustic fields radiated by a multielement therapeutic array with electronic focus steering

The paper presents an analytical method for calculating and analyzing the quality of 3-D acoustic fields of multielement phased arrays used in noninvasive ultrasound surgical devices. An analytical solution for the far field of each of its elements is used when calculating the array field. This method significantly accelerates calculations while preserving the high accuracy of results as compared to conventional direct numerical integration. Radiation from typical phased arrays is calculated using this approach, and the quality of their dynamic focusing is analyzed. Undesired diffraction effects caused by electronic focus steering are considered: an amplitude decrease in the main maximum and the appearance of grating lobes. The quality of dynamic focusing of the acoustic fields of two practically interesting arrays with a quasi-random element distribution (256 and 1024 elements, respectively), as well as of the regular array consisting of 256 elements is compared. In addition as well, a study is made of how the dimensions of the array elements and their spatial distributions affect the dimensions of the areas in which dynamic focusing is possible without occurrence of strong grating lobes and significant decrease in pressure amplitude at the main focus.

     

Theoretical Analysis and Experimental Measurement of Digital Multi-Beam Phased Antenna Array in the C-Range

The choice of element for constructing a phased antenna array (PAA) providing a relative frequency bandwidth up to 9% for the transmission or reception of wireless communication system information was carried out. There are three methods to suppress of side lobes and diffraction of PAA in the radiation far field. Superposition of excitation signals of a flat PAA for simultaneous emission of several independent beams in a radiation far field was used. Сalculation and optimization of progressive distribution of phase shifts in the excitation signal group in the horizontal and vertical directions in the plane of PAA for radiation (reception) of independent beams in spherical coordinates (azimuth and elevation) in space was performed. An experimental sample of a phased antenna array was developed using microstrip technology, which forms several beams in a radiation far field. An experimental measurement of the voltage standing wave ratio and relative frequency bandwidth of the sample developed by phased array microstrip and printing technology was carried out.     

Surface reverberation at sound field focusing in shallow water

A numerical experiment is carried out to study the long-range surface reverberation in the presence of intense surface waves for the case of using vertical transmitting arrays providing sound field focusing at different depths. To focus the field, a phase conjugation of acoustic waves from a probe source positioned at the focusing point is used. It is demonstrated that surface waves considerably affect the focusing quality at a distance of several tens of kilometers from the transmitting array. This prevents the efficient suppression of long-range reverberation by increasing the focusing depth.     

Wideband imaging of extended targets with the decomposition of the time reversal operator

The weighted wideband imaging approach of full signal subspaces is proposed based on the decomposition of the time reversal operator(DORT). Although each singular vector of nonzero singular values does not correspond to one of the extended targets any more, the conventional approach of selective time reversal focusing still chooses one of the signal subspaces for imaging. Simultaneously, the time-reversal MUSIC imaging is carried out at a single frequency for wideband signal. The imaging of both methods has a high background fluctuation.In order to overcome these drawbacks, the number of signal subspaces is determined by the singular values of the time reversal operator, and then DORT imaging of full signal subspaces and entire bandwidth is achieved using the generalized reflectivity coefficients as the weighted parameters. The experimental result shows that the sidelobe level of this approach is extremely decreased.     

A new multichannel time reversal focusing method for circumferential Lamb waves and its applications for defect detection in thick-walled pipe with large-diameter

This paper proposes a new multichannel time reversal focusing (MTRF) method for circumferential Lamb waves which is based on modified time reversal algorithm and applies this method for detecting different kinds of defects in thick-walled pipe with large-diameter. The principle of time reversal of circumferential Lamb waves in pipe is presented along with the influence from multiple guided wave modes and propagation paths. Experimental study is carried out in a thick-walled and large-diameter pipe with three artificial defects, namely two axial notches on its inner and outer surface respectively, and a corrosion-like defect on its outer surface. By using the proposed MTRF method, the multichannel signals focus at the defects, leading to the amplitude improvement of the defect scattered signal. Besides, another energy focus arises in the direct signal due to the partial compensation of dispersion and multimode of circumferential Lamb waves, alongside the multichannel focusing, during MTRF process. By taking the direct focus as a time base, accurate defect localization is implemented. Secondly, a new phenomenon is exhibited in this paper that defect scattered wave packet appears just before the right boundary of truncation window after time reversal, and to which two feasible explanations are given. Moreover, this phenomenon can be used as the theoretical basis in the determination of defect scattered waves in time reversal response signal. At last, in order to detect defects without prior knowing their exact position, a large-range truncation window is used in the proposed method. As a result, the experimental operation of MTRF method is simplified and defect detection and localization are well accomplished.     

宽带扩展性目标时反算子分解成像

在时反算子分解技术的基础上,提出了宽带全信号子空间加权成像方法。虽然扩展性目标与时反算子的特征向量不再是一一对应关系,传统的时反选择性聚焦仍然选择某一特定的信号子空间成像,而时反MUSIC只利用某一频点成像,导致定位结果背景起伏较高。为克服这些缺陷,利用时反算子的特征值判断信号子空间的个数,以广义散射系数为加权系数,实现全宽带和全信号子空间成像。结果表明,此方法的旁瓣水平明显下降。      

Theoretical calculation on distance amplitude curve of ultrasonic phased array

Ultrasonic phased array technology has been gradually applied to industrial nondestructive testing in recent years. The sound field of the focusing and steering beam radiating from the phased array is a nonuniform distribution in the spatial position so that the echo signals of same size defects will be changed according to defect positions. To analyze these defects quantitatively, a model-based method for the distance amplitude correction is proposed for the phased array system. Based on a non-paraxial multi-Gaussian beam model and flaw scattering models, an ultrasonic measurement model for the phased array system is proposed to calculate the echo signals from side-drilled holes at different positions. Furthermore, these model-based distance amplitude curves are compared with the traditional experimental results for different focusing and steering beams. The two methods have a good agreement.     

基于超声相控阵的环焊缝缺陷检测方法研究

针对传统超声探头焦距固定,检测位置的改变就要更换相应焦距的探头而影响检测效率的问题,提出一种基于超声相控阵换能器的环焊缝缺陷检测方法。而超声相控阵具有电子偏转和电子聚焦特性,能在不移动的情况下发射偏转聚焦超声束,有效地解决了上述问题。首先基于超声相控线阵换能器的声场特点,采用数值分析方法,研究了影响声束偏转聚焦性能的几个主要参数。然后给出了与超声相控阵换能器相连接的多通道数据采集系统结构。介绍了单通道声信号的硬件结构及相应的信号处理方法,实现了对换能器中单个阵元的精确延时的控制。实验结果表明,优化设计的超声相控线阵换能器具有较高的检测精度和检测效率。     

基于虚拟源时间反转的经颅超声精确聚焦*

针对经颅超声难以精确聚焦的问题,本文研究了基于虚拟源的时间反转方法,建立颅骨二维数字模型,在聚焦目标处设置虚拟声源,利用时域有限差分法模拟超声时间反转过程,并考察基于虚拟源时间反转方法的聚焦效果。数值仿真结果表明,基于虚拟源的时间反转方法可以实现经颅超声的精确聚焦,聚焦强度和精度好于传统的相控聚焦;换能器中心频率和数量对聚焦效果的影响规律与相控聚焦时类似;该方法可以同时向多个焦点聚焦,并自适应调节各焦点处声压幅度。