Benkeser P J, Pao T L, Yoon Y J
Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Electrical Engineering, Atlanta 30332-0250.
Ultrasonics. 1991 Jan;29(1):85-8. doi: 10.1016/0041-624x(91)90179-c.
Multiple and mechanically scanned ultrasound transducer systems have demonstrated the efficacy of using ultrasound to produce deep localized hyperthermia. The use of ultrasonic phased arrays has been proposed as an alternative to these systems. A phased array offers a more flexible approach to heating tumours in that the size, shape, and position of its focal region can be altered during the course of treatment in order to achieve the desired temperature distribution. This added flexibility comes at the cost of increased complexity of the hardware necessary to drive the transducer because each element requires its own amplifer with both phase and amplitude control. In order for phased arrays with large numbers of elements to be feasible for hyperthermia applications, the complexity of this circuitry must be minimized. This paper describes a circuit design which simplifies the electronics required to control a phased array transducer system for hyperthermia applications. The design is capable of controlling virtually any type of phased array transducer operating at frequencies less than 2 MHz. The system performance was verified through beam profile measurements using a 48-element tapered phased array transducer.
多阵元机械扫描超声换能器系统已证明利用超声产生深部局部热疗的有效性。有人提出使用超声相控阵作为这些系统的替代方案。相控阵为肿瘤加热提供了一种更灵活的方法，因为在治疗过程中可以改变其焦点区域的大小、形状和位置，以实现所需的温度分布。这种增加的灵活性是以驱动换能器所需硬件复杂性的增加为代价的，因为每个阵元都需要自己的具有相位和幅度控制的放大器。为了使具有大量阵元的相控阵在热疗应用中可行，必须将这种电路的复杂性降至最低。本文描述了一种电路设计，该设计简化了用于热疗应用的相控阵换能器系统控制所需的电子设备。该设计能够控制几乎任何类型的工作频率低于2MHz的相控阵换能器。通过使用48阵元渐变相控阵换能器进行波束轮廓测量，验证了系统性能。
