Voormolen Marco M, Krenning Boudewijn J, Lancée Charles T, ten Cate Folkert J, Roelandt Jos R T C, van der Steen Antonius F W, de Jong Nico
Thoraxcenter, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdan, The Netherlands.
IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control. 2006 Oct;53(10):1739-48. doi: 10.1109/tuffc.2006.107.
Although the advantages of three-dimensional (3-D) echocardiography have been acknowledged, its application for routine diagnosis is still very limited. This is mainly due to the relatively long acquisition time. Only recently has this problem been addressed with the introduction of new real-time 3-D echo systems. This paper describes the design, characteristics, and capabilities of an alternative concept for rapid 3-D echocardiographic recordings. The presented fast-rotating ultrasound (FRU)-transducer is based on a 64-element phased array that rotates with a maximum speed of 8 Hz (480 rpm). The large bandwidth of the FRU-transducer makes it highly suitable for tissue and contrast harmonic imaging. The transducer presents itself as a conventional phased-array transducer; therefore, it is easily implemented on existing 2-D echo systems, without additional interfacing. The capabilities of the FRU-transducer are illustrated with in-vitro volume measurements, harmonic imaging in combination with a contrast agent, and a preliminary clinical study.
尽管三维（3-D）超声心动图的优势已得到认可，但其在常规诊断中的应用仍然非常有限。这主要是由于采集时间相对较长。直到最近，随着新型实时3-D超声系统的引入，这个问题才得到解决。本文描述了一种用于快速三维超声心动图记录的替代概念的设计、特点和功能。所提出的快速旋转超声（FRU）换能器基于一个64阵元相控阵，其最大旋转速度为8 Hz（480 rpm）。FRU换能器的大带宽使其非常适合组织和造影剂谐波成像。该换能器表现为一个传统的相控阵换能器；因此，它可以很容易地在现有的二维超声系统上实现，无需额外的接口。通过体外容积测量、与造影剂结合的谐波成像以及一项初步临床研究来说明FRU换能器的功能。
