Pc-based Ultrasound Imaging System in a Probe

Current state-of-the-art medical ultrasound scanners can depict structure and function, e.g. images of tissue and blood flow, with exceptional quality. However, the systems are large and relatively expensive. The clinical value and widespread acceptance of ultrasound as a diagnostic imaging modality opened an opportunity for Teratech Corporation to expand its technology by creating the TerasonTM 2000 Handheld Ultrasound System—an ultrasound system that provides excellent image quality while being much smaller in size and lower in cost than conventional systems. Unlike conventional machines with proprietary system architecture, the Terason 2000 deploys an open architecture that supports direct access to image data files and facilitates seamless integration into the emerging realm of digital radiology, including internet-based teleradiology, medical informatics systems, and digital image archiving and retrieval. To achieve these goals, Teratech leveraged its unique silicon system-on-a-chip capability, and dramatically reduced the typical rack-mounted conventional system to a Terason SmartProbeTM weighing approximately 10 ounces (0.28 kg). Employing Teratech’s proprietary Charge Domain Processing (CDP), the beamformer supports a continuous computation throughput of 10.2 billion operations/s and a delay update rate of 10 billion bits/s while consuming less than 1W, providing more than 10-fold savings in power and weight compared to the conventional implementation. The system is linked to a host PC through an IEEE 1394 (a.k.a. FireWire) serial cable. The PC, running Windows NT or 2000 with plug-and-play standard compatibility, allows the system to utilize all of the control, display, videorecording, and networking capabilities currently available for PCs.