School of Mechanical & Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
School of Information Engineering, Huizhou Economic and Polytechnic College, Huizhou, China.
PLoS One. 2019 Feb 14;14(2):e0212285. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212285. eCollection 2019.
Compared to the conventional ultrasonic phased-array system, a large-element phased-array system employing the total focusing method (TFM) can yield improved image resolution and accuracy, providing more flexible scanning methods and image merging functionality. In order to meet various forms of ultrasonic multi-group scanning, an architecture for multi-group scan integration called the "asynchronous distributed ultrasonic TFM system" is proposed, and a novel scheduling algorithm called "the sum of start time and processing time adjacent (SSPA) algorithm" is presented. The architecture adds a focus and group scheduler (FGS) and signal processing scheduler (SPS) to the traditional ultrasonic phased array system and constructs a signal processing arbitration (SPA) with several signal processing modules (SPMs). The FGS provides the focus parameters, pixel memory range, and number of pixels in each group. The SPS controls the SPA for the ultrasonic scanning data obtained from the elements, with SPM-sharing output data; hence, the optimal priority order and SPM assignment are realized, enabling switching of reading operations among the first-in-first-out memories for signal processing and minimal time-slot waiting. The SSPA algorithm is used to solve the job-shop scheduling problem with start time, which considers the processing time and start time, in order to reduce the time slot after each scheduling using adjacent operations. Therefore, the architecture enhances the flexibility of the multi-group scan, and this algorithm decreases the makespan, achieving higher efficiency compared to conventional scheduling algorithms. The reliability and validity of the algorithm are substantiated after its implementation using FPGA technology. The SPM utilization rate and the real-time performance of the ultrasonic TFM are improved. Thus, the proposed algorithm and architecture have considerable potential application in multi-sensor systems.
与传统的超声相控阵系统相比，采用全聚焦方法（TFM）的大元件相控阵系统可以提高图像分辨率和准确性，提供更灵活的扫描方法和图像合并功能。为了满足各种形式的超声多组扫描，提出了一种称为“异步分布式超声 TFM 系统”的多组扫描集成架构，并提出了一种称为“起始时间和处理时间之和相邻（SSPA）算法”的新调度算法。该架构在传统超声相控阵系统中添加了聚焦和组调度器（FGS）和信号处理调度器（SPS），并构建了具有多个信号处理模块（SPM）的信号处理仲裁（SPA）。FGS 提供聚焦参数、像素存储范围和每组像素数。SPS 控制 SPA 处理来自元素的超声扫描数据，具有 SPM 共享输出数据；因此，实现了最佳优先级顺序和 SPM 分配，实现了信号处理的读写操作之间的切换以及最小时隙等待。SSPA 算法用于解决具有起始时间的作业车间调度问题，该问题考虑了处理时间和起始时间，以便通过相邻操作减少每次调度后的时隙。因此，该架构增强了多组扫描的灵活性，与传统调度算法相比，该算法减少了跨度，提高了效率。该算法使用 FPGA 技术实现后，验证了其可靠性和有效性。提高了 SPM 的利用率和超声 TFM 的实时性。因此，所提出的算法和架构在多传感器系统中具有相当大的潜在应用。
