Directional velocity estimation using focusing along the flow direction. II: Experimental investigation.

A new method for directional velocity estimation is investigated through a number of flow rig measurements. The method uses beamformation along the flow direction to generate data, where the correct velocity magnitude can directly be estimated from the shift in position of the received consecutive signals. The shift is found by cross-correlating the beamformed lines. The approach can find the velocity in any direction, including transverse to the traditionally emitted ultrasound beam. The method is investigated using a flow rig with a peak velocity of 0.15 m/s. A 7-MHz linear array transducer is used together with a dedicated sampling system to acquire signals from 64 transducer elements simultaneously. A technique for obtaining 128-element data using multiplexing is also presented. The data is beamformed off-line on a PC. A relative standard deviation of 1.4% can be obtained for a beam-to-flow angle of 45 degrees and 4.3% at 90 degrees. Color flow images are displayed showing that the correct velocity magnitude can be obtained with the method for beam-to-flow angles of 60 and 90 degrees with an accuracy of 3 to 4%.