The Taub Faculty of Computer Science Events and Talks

Element reduction in ultrasound transducers allows for several benefits, such asmore compact ultrasound systems and more efficient implementation of signal enhancement algorithms. However, element thinning poses two main challenges: SNR (signal to noise ratio) reduction and interference through grating lobes.

Through the use of multiplicative beamforming in ultrasound systems, we decrease the number of processed elements in the transducer while preserving the beam pattern. Thus, we reduce the number of processed received elements by a square root factor. We improve the SNR by employing new algorithms developed for the smaller number of processed elements. Coherence factor multiplication is used for incoherent noise reduction. Strong reflectors separation allows for CNR (contrast to noise ratio) improvement. Retrospective transmit beamforming allows for improved lateral resolution. Our imaging results show improvement over full array echocardiography.

​*​M.Sc. research under the supervision of Prof. Moshe Porat (EE, Technion) and Dr. Zvi Friedman (GE Healthcare).