WO2019119519A1

WO2019119519A1 - Ultrasonic excitation apparatus, method and system

Info

Publication number: WO2019119519A1
Application number: PCT/CN2017/120162
Authority: WO
Inventors: 邱维宝; 孙武; 周娟; 言文斌; 李锦成; 郑海荣
Original assignee: 深圳先进技术研究院; 中国科学院大学
Priority date: 2017-12-22
Filing date: 2017-12-29
Publication date: 2019-06-27
Also published as: CN108144199A

Abstract

An ultrasonic excitation apparatus (100), method and system (10). The ultrasonic excitation apparatus (100) comprises a waveform generator (110), a power amplifier (120), and an ultrasonic transducer array (130). The waveform generator (110) is used for generating, after obtaining an ultrasonic excitation parameter of respective channels, a waveform excitation signal of each channel according to the ultrasonic excitation parameter. The power amplifier (120) is electrically connected to the waveform generator (110) to perform power amplification on the waveform excitation signal, generate a high-voltage driving signal and input same into the ultrasonic transducer array (130). The ultrasonic transducer array (130) is used for generating ultrasonic waves on a corresonding array element based on the high-voltage driving signal. The ultrasonic transducer array (130) comprises a plurality of array elements, wherein each of the array elements corresponds to one channel. Therefore, the performance of an ultrasonic transducer can be fully utilized so as to acquire better ultrasonic mechanical effects and thermal effects.

Description

Ultrasonic excitation device, method and system

Cross-reference to related applications

The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application Serial No. JP-A No. No. No. No. No. No. No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of medical device technology, and in particular to an ultrasonic excitation device, method and system.

Background technique

At present, the traditional neuromodulation method generally uses a single frequency single waveform excitation, such as sine wave or square wave excitation, but the single frequency excitation signal cannot fully exert the performance of the ultrasonic transducer. Moreover, current device hardware uses a method similar to a direct digital frequency synthesizer to generate an excitation signal, which is less flexible.

Summary of the invention

In order to overcome the above-mentioned deficiencies in the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic excitation device, method and system, which can flexibly configure ultrasonic excitation parameters of respective channels to generate an excitation signal of an arbitrary waveform, thereby fully utilizing ultrasonic transduction Performance, better ultrasonic mechanics and thermal effects.

In order to achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the preferred embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

A preferred embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasonic excitation device that includes a waveform generator, a power amplifier, and an ultrasound transducer array.

After the waveform generator is used to obtain the ultrasonic excitation parameters of the respective channels, a waveform excitation signal of each channel is generated according to the ultrasonic excitation parameters.

The power amplifier is electrically connected to the waveform generator for power amplifying the waveform excitation signal to generate a high voltage driving signal and input to the ultrasonic transducer array.

The ultrasonic transducer array is configured to generate ultrasonic waves on respective array elements according to the high voltage driving signal, wherein the ultrasonic transducer array includes a plurality of array elements, and each array element corresponds to one channel.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ultrasonic excitation parameter includes at least one of a waveform shape, a signal frequency, a signal amplitude, and a focus parameter, and the signal frequency includes a single frequency waveform frequency or a composite frequency waveform frequency.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the waveform generator includes a communication interface, a signal processor, and an array of digital to analog converters.

The signal processor is electrically connected to the communication interface and the digital-to-analog converter array, respectively, for controlling the communication interface to receive an ultrasonic excitation parameter of each channel, and generating a corresponding channel according to the ultrasonic excitation parameter. a waveform excitation signal, which is further written into a corresponding digital-to-analog converter in the digital-to-analog converter array to convert the waveform excitation signal into an analog signal and output through the digital-to-analog converter To the power amplifier.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the signal processor is further configured to control the communication interface to receive a control parameter, and control the digital-to-analog converter array and the working state of the power amplifier according to the control parameter, where The control parameter includes at least one or a combination of a power amplification factor, a pulse repetition frequency, a transmission control parameter, and an echo reception control parameter.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the signal processor comprises a field programmable gate array or a digital signal processor.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the signal processor includes:

a communication processing unit for controlling the communication interface;

Generating a waveform excitation signal for each channel based on the ultrasonic excitation parameters and writing the waveform excitation signal to a logic processing unit of the digital to analog converter array;

A beam combining unit for phase delaying a waveform excitation signal to be generated according to a focus parameter.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ultrasonic excitation device further includes an echo acquisition module and an echo imaging module;

The echo acquisition module is configured to perform signal processing after acquiring an ultrasonic echo signal detected by the ultrasound transducer array, and convert the processed ultrasonic echo signal into a digital signal;

The echo imaging module is electrically connected to the echo collection module, and is configured to perform signal processing on the digital signal according to beamforming parameters to obtain corresponding ultrasonic echo data, and transmit the ultrasonic echo data to The computer device performs ultrasound imaging.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the echo acquisition module includes an ultrasound analog front end amplification unit and an analog signal acquisition unit;

The ultrasonic analog front end amplification unit is electrically connected to the analog signal acquisition unit, and is configured to send the ultrasonic echo signal to the analog signal acquisition unit for analog-to-digital conversion after preamplification, filtering, and voltage controlled amplification. After that, the digital signal is output.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ultrasonic transducer array includes an excitation probe and an imaging probe;

The excitation probe is configured to generate an ultrasonic wave according to a high voltage driving signal;

The imaging probe is used to detect ultrasound echoes for imaging monitoring.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention further provides an ultrasonic excitation method applied to the above ultrasonic excitation device, the method comprising:

After obtaining the ultrasonic excitation parameters of the respective channels, the waveform generator generates a waveform excitation signal for each channel according to the ultrasonic excitation parameters, wherein the ultrasonic excitation parameters include a waveform shape, a signal frequency, a signal amplitude, and a focusing parameter. At least one of the signal frequencies comprising a single frequency waveform frequency or a composite frequency waveform frequency;

The power amplifier performs power amplification of the waveform excitation signal to generate a high voltage driving signal and input to the ultrasonic transducer array;

The ultrasound transducer array generates ultrasound waves on respective array elements according to the high voltage drive signal, wherein the ultrasound transducer array includes a plurality of array elements, each array element corresponding to one channel.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention also provides an ultrasonic excitation system including a computer device and the above-described ultrasonic excitation device;

The computer device is communicatively coupled to the ultrasonic excitation device for transmitting ultrasonic excitation parameters of each channel to the ultrasonic excitation device;

The ultrasonic excitation device generates a corresponding ultrasonic wave based on the ultrasonic excitation parameter, and transmits the ultrasonic echo data to the computer device after acquiring the ultrasonic echo data;

The computer device performs ultrasound imaging according to the ultrasound echo data to output a visualization image.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

Embodiments of the present invention provide an ultrasonic excitation device, method, and system. After obtaining ultrasonic excitation parameters of each channel by a waveform generator, a waveform excitation signal of each channel is generated, and the power amplifier amplifies the waveform excitation signal to generate a high voltage driving signal. And input to the ultrasound transducer array, the ultrasound transducer array generates ultrasonic waves on the corresponding array elements according to the high voltage driving signal. Therefore, the ultrasonic excitation parameters of each channel can be flexibly configured to generate an excitation signal of an arbitrary waveform, and the excitation signals of each array element in the ultrasonic transducer array can be independently controlled, thereby fully utilizing the performance of the ultrasonic transducer. , to obtain better ultrasonic mechanical effects as well as thermal effects.

DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly described below. It should be understood that the following drawings show only certain embodiments of the present invention, and therefore It should be seen as a limitation on the scope, and those skilled in the art can obtain other related drawings according to the drawings without any creative work.

1 is a structural block diagram of an ultrasonic excitation system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a waveform diagram of an excitation signal in an embodiment;

3 is another structural block diagram of an ultrasonic excitation system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

4 is another structural block diagram of an ultrasonic excitation system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is another structural block diagram of an ultrasonic excitation system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic flow chart of an ultrasonic excitation method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Icons: 10 - ultrasonic excitation system; 100 - ultrasonic excitation device; 110 - waveform generator; 112 - communication interface; 114 - signal processor; 1142 - communication processing unit; - Digital to analog converter array; 120 - power amplifier; 130 - ultrasonic transducer array; 140 - echo acquisition module; 142 - ultrasonic analog front end amplification unit; 144 - analog signal acquisition unit; 150 - echo imaging module; - Computer equipment.

Detailed ways

At present, medical ultrasound technology has been widely used in clinical diagnosis and treatment. Ultrasound diagnosis mainly uses ultrasound echo to obtain imaging information of the tissue, providing clinicians with the necessary diagnostic reference. Ultrasound therapy utilizes the mechanical, thermal, and cavitation effects of ultrasound for the treatment of disease. Specifically, it can be divided into high-dose ultrasonic thermal ablation technology and low-dose ultrasonic regulation technology. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a typical ultrasonic thermal ablation technique. HIFU can penetrate the tissue, reach the target area, destroy the tumor in the body, and finally absorb the damaged tumor through the body's own immune system. To achieve the efficacy of non-invasive treatment. The main applications of low-dose ultrasound therapy are: ultrasound vascular thrombolysis, ultrasound-based blood-brain barrier opening, and ultrasound neuromodulation. So-called ultrasound vascular thrombolysis, that is, the use of ultrasound to destroy, dredge blood spots, in order to achieve the purpose of treatment. The blood-brain barrier is a barrier that selectively blocks certain substances from entering the brain between blood vessels and the brain. This is usually beneficial for the protection of the body. However, it also weakens the therapeutic effect of the drug on the patient. Focused ultrasound can temporarily remove the blood-brain barrier, allowing drugs to pass through the barrier to the brain, effectively improving the effectiveness of drug treatment. Ultrasound neuromodulation, which stimulates the nerve by ultrasound, causes the nervous system to excite or inhibit, regulates the nerve activity of the organism, and changes the response of the neural circuit, thereby contributing to the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases. Ultrasound neuromodulation is an effective means by human intervention in the neural circuits of living organisms, and then the study of brain functions (such as cognition, feeling, etc.).

At present, the inventors of the present application have found that the commonly used solution is an ultrasound system based on a single-element self-focusing transducer. The advantage of this scheme is that the system complexity is low and easy to implement. However, the shortcomings are also obvious, such as a single ultrasound focusing mode, and the problem of inaccurate target location. In order to solve the problem of focus movement and positioning difficulty, an ultrasound system based on arrayed ultrasonic transducer is proposed. This scheme can flexibly change the focus position of the phased array ultrasonic transducer by means of electronic scanning. The problem is solved by the former.

In fact, the inventors found that the ultrasonic transducer has a certain bandwidth during the research process, and the excitation signal in the bandwidth has a high electroacoustic conversion efficiency. After long-term research by the inventors, it has been found that if two or more excitation signals are used to simultaneously excite the ultrasonic transducer, a novel excitation sequence can be formed, which can be obtained in applications such as opening of the blood-brain barrier, thermal ablation of the focal region, and the like. Better results. However, in the current prior art, it is often difficult to achieve such an effect by using a single sine wave or a square wave to excite an ultrasonic transducer. Moreover, currently existing device hardware uses a method similar to a direct digital frequency synthesizer to generate an excitation signal, and it is difficult to compensate for this defect by a software algorithm.

In view of the above problems, the inventors of the present application have long studied and explored the following embodiments for improving the effect of ultrasonic treatment, and the ultrasonic excitation parameters of each channel can be flexibly configured to generate an excitation signal of an arbitrary waveform for an ultrasound transducer array. The excitation signals of each of the array elements can be independently controlled, so that the performance of the ultrasonic transducer can be fully utilized to obtain better ultrasonic mechanical effects and thermal effects. On this basis, relevant personnel can design new excitation waveforms and excitations. Sequences to achieve a more diverse excitation waveform and focus mode provide a better device basis for ultrasound therapy. The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is obvious that the described embodiments are a part of the embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the invention, which are generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention in the claims All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts are within the scope of the present invention.

It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters indicate similar items in the following figures, and therefore, once an item is defined in a drawing, it is not necessary to further define and explain it in the subsequent drawings.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a structural block diagram of an ultrasonic excitation system 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic excitation system 10 can include a computer device 200 and an ultrasonic excitation device 100. The computer device 200 is communicatively coupled to the ultrasound excitation device 100 for transmitting ultrasound excitation parameters for each channel to the ultrasound excitation device 100. The ultrasonic excitation device 100 generates a corresponding ultrasonic wave based on the ultrasonic excitation parameter, and transmits the ultrasonic echo data to the computer device 200 after acquiring the ultrasonic echo data. The computer device 200 performs ultrasonic imaging based on the ultrasonic echo data and outputs a visualized image.

In this embodiment, the computer device 200 may be an electronic device including a hardware, a software or an embedded logic element or a combination of two or more such elements, and capable of executing a suitable implementation or support by the computer device 200. Features. The computer device 200 can be a device having a wireless transceiving function, including indoor or outdoor, handheld, wearable, or in-vehicle devices. For example, the computer device 200 may be a mobile phone, a tablet, a personal computer (PC), a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, and augmented reality ( Augmented Reality, AR) terminal, wireless terminal in Industrial Control, wireless terminal in Self Driving, wireless terminal in Remote Medical, wireless in Smart Grid Terminals, wireless terminals in Transportation Safety, wireless terminals in Smart City, wireless terminals in Smart Home, etc. This embodiment does not limit the application scenario.

Specifically, the computer device 200 can be used as a host computer to provide an interactive interface for configuring ultrasonic excitation parameters of each channel. The user can configure the ultrasonic excitation parameters of each channel on the interaction interface according to actual conditions to generate related control. Instructions are sent to the ultrasonic excitation device 100, which can generate ultrasonic waves on respective array elements based on ultrasonic excitation parameters of the respective channels.

It should be noted that the ultrasonic excitation device 100 may not only obtain the ultrasonic excitation parameters of the respective channels, but also obtain the configuration buttons provided by the ultrasonic excitation device 100 itself, or obtain the information through the remote server. The manner in which the excitation device 100 obtains the ultrasonic excitation parameters is not limited in detail.

The structure of the ultrasonic excitation device 100 will be described in detail below by taking the ultrasonic excitation device 100 as an example of obtaining the ultrasonic excitation parameter by the computer device 200 as the upper computer. As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic excitation device 100 can include a waveform generator 110, a power amplifier 120, and an ultrasound transducer array 130. After the waveform generator 110 is configured to obtain ultrasonic excitation parameters of the respective channels, a waveform excitation signal of each channel is generated according to the ultrasonic excitation parameters. The power amplifier 120 is electrically connected to the waveform generator 110 for power amplification of the waveform excitation signal to generate a high voltage driving signal and input to the ultrasonic transducer array 130. The ultrasound transducer array 130 is configured to generate ultrasound waves on respective array elements based on the high voltage drive signals.

In detail, the ultrasonic excitation parameter may include at least one of a waveform shape, a signal frequency, a signal amplitude, and a focus parameter, the signal frequency including a single frequency waveform frequency or a composite frequency waveform frequency. The ultrasound transducer array 130 can include a plurality of array elements, one for each array element. In this embodiment, the ultrasonic excitation parameters can be flexibly configured by the relevant user, so that an excitation signal of an arbitrary waveform can be generated according to the user's needs, and thus the excitation signal for each of the array elements in the ultrasonic transducer array 130 can be performed. Independent control, for example, the same frequency waveform or different frequency waveforms, the same array element can also be excited by a waveform containing multiple frequencies, each channel waveform is arranged according to a certain rule, and the excitation signal can also be continuous Waves, short pulse waves, and long pulse waves. In this way, the performance of the ultrasonic transducer is fully utilized, and better ultrasonic mechanical effects and thermal effects are obtained, so that better effects can be obtained in applications such as blood-brain barrier opening and ultrasonic thermal ablation. On this basis, relevant personnel can design a new type of excitation waveform and excitation sequence to achieve a more diversified excitation waveform and focusing mode, providing a better equipment basis for ultrasound treatment.

The waveform shape may refer to a sine wave, a square wave, and a sinusoidal composite waveform of a plurality of frequencies, and the signal frequency may refer to a signal change period of the waveform signal, when a plurality of sinusoidal composite waveforms are used. Contains multiple frequencies. In addition, if pulse wave excitation is used, it is also necessary to configure the repetition frequency of the pulse. The signal amplitude may refer to a range in which the signal voltage fluctuates up and down. The focus parameter may refer to a focus mode of the signal.

For example, in the waveform diagram shown in Figure 2, three typical different excitation waveforms are listed, which are a single-frequency sine wave signal, a single-frequency sine wave and a carrier-modulated signal, and a composite signal of a dual-frequency sine wave. When a plurality of sinusoidal composite waveforms are used, the composite signal type of the dual-frequency sine wave at this time contains a plurality of frequencies. In practical applications, other excitation signals can still be designed according to actual conditions. Only the designed excitation signal needs to be sampled, and the excitation parameters and other control parameters (for example, amplification factor, pulse repetition frequency, etc.) at the corresponding sampling points are calculated. The signal to the waveform generator 110 is sent to synthesize the designed excitation signal. Thereby, the defect that the conventional method can only generate a single waveform excitation signal can be avoided, the bandwidth of the ultrasonic transducer can be better utilized, and better ultrasonic mechanical effects and thermal effects can be obtained in different applications. In a practical application scenario, when the ultrasonic transducer is used to heat the target tissue by using the modulated wave or the dual-frequency sine wave shown in FIG. 2, the temperature rises faster, and the heating time is shortened, such as a blood-brain barrier. Better results can be obtained in applications such as opening, ultrasonic ablation, and the like.

The structure of the waveform generator 110 will be described below. Referring to FIG. 3, the waveform generator 110 may include a communication interface 112, a signal processor 114, and a digital to analog converter array 116. In detail, the signal processor 114 is electrically connected to the communication interface 112 and the digital-to-analog converter array 116, respectively, for controlling the communication interface 112 to receive ultrasonic excitation parameters of each channel, and according to the The ultrasonic excitation parameters generate waveform excitation signals for the corresponding channels, and then the waveform excitation signals are written to corresponding digital to analog converters in the digital to analog converter array 116. The digital to analog converter can convert the waveform excitation signal into an analog signal and output to the power amplifier 120. Thereby, the reception of the ultrasonic excitation parameters of each of the channels, the generation of the waveform excitation signal, and the digital-to-analog conversion of the waveform excitation signal can be achieved.

In one embodiment, the signal processor 114 can include a field programmable gate array or a digital signal processor 114.

In one embodiment, the signal processor 114 includes a communication processing unit 1142, a logic processing unit 1144, and a beam combining unit 1146. The communication processing unit 1142 is configured to control the communication interface 112, the logic processing unit 1144 is configured to generate a waveform excitation signal of each channel according to the ultrasonic excitation parameter, and write the waveform excitation signal into the digital mode The converter array 116 is configured to perform phase delay on the generated waveform excitation signal according to the focus parameter to synthesize a specific sound field, thereby improving the practical application effect.

In an embodiment, the signal processor 114 is further configured to control the communication interface 112 to receive control parameters, and control the working states of the digital-to-analog converter array 116 and the power amplifier 120 according to the control parameters. . The control parameter may include at least one or a combination of a power amplification factor, a pulse repetition frequency, a transmission control parameter, and an echo reception control parameter. The power amplification factor may refer to a multiple of the power amplifier 120 amplifying the excitation signal, and at the same time, the pulse repetition frequency needs to be configured when the pulse wave excitation is employed. The emission control parameter and the echo reception control parameter may refer to control parameters when transmitting the excitation signal and receiving the echo signal.

In an embodiment, the ultrasound transducer array 130 may be a multi-element phased array transducer, which may be planar or curved, and the ultrasound transducer array may be regular. The distribution can also be a random distribution. In addition, the ultrasound transducer elements can be ultrasonically stimulated, imaged dual mode transducers. The dual-mode transducer enables real-time imaging to monitor ultrasound-stimulated targets and provides more accurate support for moving ultrasound focus. In this case, the ultrasound transducer includes an excitation probe for generating ultrasound waves from a high voltage drive signal and an imaging probe for detecting ultrasound echoes for imaging monitoring.

Further, on the basis of detecting the ultrasonic echo, referring to FIG. 4, the ultrasonic excitation device 100 may further include an echo acquisition module 140 and an echo imaging module 150. Specifically, the echo acquisition module 140 is configured to perform signal processing after acquiring the ultrasonic echo signals detected by the ultrasonic transducer array 130, and convert the processed ultrasonic echo signals into digital signals. . The echo imaging module 150 is electrically connected to the echo collection module 140, and is configured to perform signal processing on the digital signal according to beamforming parameters to obtain corresponding ultrasonic echo data, and the ultrasonic echo data. Transmission to computer device 200 for ultrasound imaging provides support for user decision making.

More specifically, referring to FIG. 5, the echo acquisition module 140 may include an ultrasound analog front end amplification unit 142 and an analog signal acquisition unit 144. The ultrasonic analog front end amplifying unit 142 is electrically connected to the analog signal collecting unit 144, and is configured to send the ultrasonic echo signal to the analog signal collecting unit 144 after preamplification, filtering, and voltage controlled amplification. After analog-to-digital conversion, a digital signal is output. Therefore, through the integration of ultrasonic excitation and echo imaging, the integration degree is better, and the ultrasound image self-guided treatment can be realized.

Further, referring to FIG. 6, a preferred embodiment of the present invention further provides an ultrasonic excitation method. It can be understood that the steps involved in the ultrasonic excitation method to be described next are described in the above embodiments, and specific The details of the steps can be described with reference to the above embodiments, and only the steps of the ultrasonic excitation method are briefly described below. The method can include:

Step S110, after the waveform generator 110 obtains the ultrasonic excitation parameters of the respective channels, the waveform excitation signals of each channel are generated according to the ultrasonic excitation parameters.

The ultrasonic excitation parameter includes at least one of a waveform shape, a signal frequency, a signal amplitude, and a focus parameter, and the signal frequency includes a single frequency waveform frequency or a composite frequency waveform frequency.

In step S120, the power amplifier 120 performs power amplification on the waveform excitation signal to generate a high voltage driving signal and input it to the ultrasonic transducer array 130.

In step S130, the ultrasonic transducer array 130 generates ultrasonic waves on the corresponding array elements according to the high voltage driving signals.

The ultrasound transducer array 130 includes a plurality of array elements, one for each array element.

In summary, the embodiments of the present invention provide an ultrasonic excitation device, method, and system. After obtaining ultrasonic excitation parameters of each channel by a waveform generator, a waveform excitation signal of each channel is generated, and the power amplifier performs power amplification on the waveform excitation signal. A high voltage drive signal is generated and input to the ultrasonic transducer array, and the ultrasonic transducer array generates ultrasonic waves on the corresponding array elements according to the high voltage drive signal. Therefore, the ultrasonic excitation parameters of each channel can be flexibly configured to generate an excitation signal of an arbitrary waveform, and the excitation signals of each array element in the ultrasonic transducer array can be independently controlled, thereby fully utilizing the performance of the ultrasonic transducer. , to obtain better ultrasonic mechanical effects as well as thermal effects.

It is to be understood that the term "comprising", "including" or any other variants thereof is intended to encompass a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or device comprising a Elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements that are inherent to such a process, method, item, or device. An element defined by the phrase "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of additional elements in the process, method, item, or device that comprises the element.

It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the above-described exemplary embodiments, and the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the invention. Therefore, the present embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims instead All changes in the meaning and scope of equivalent elements are included in the present invention. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the claim.

Claims

An ultrasonic excitation device, characterized in that the ultrasonic excitation device comprises a waveform generator, a power amplifier and an ultrasound transducer array;

The waveform generator is configured to obtain an ultrasonic excitation parameter of each channel, and generate a waveform excitation signal of each channel according to the ultrasonic excitation parameter;

The power amplifier is electrically connected to the waveform generator for power amplification of the waveform excitation signal, generating a high voltage driving signal and inputting to the ultrasonic transducer array;

The ultrasound transducer array is configured to generate ultrasound on a respective array element based on the high voltage drive signal, wherein the ultrasound transducer array includes a plurality of array elements, each array element corresponding to a channel.
The ultrasonic excitation device according to claim 1, wherein said ultrasonic excitation parameter comprises at least one of a waveform shape, a signal frequency, a signal amplitude, and a focus parameter, said signal frequency comprising a single frequency waveform frequency Or composite frequency waveform frequency.
The ultrasonic excitation device according to claim 1, wherein said waveform generator comprises a communication interface, a signal processor, and an array of digital to analog converters;

The signal processor is electrically connected to the communication interface and the digital-to-analog converter array, respectively, for controlling the communication interface to receive an ultrasonic excitation parameter of each channel, and generating a corresponding channel according to the ultrasonic excitation parameter. a waveform excitation signal, which is further written into a corresponding digital-to-analog converter in the digital-to-analog converter array to convert the waveform excitation signal into an analog signal and output through the digital-to-analog converter To the power amplifier.
The ultrasonic excitation device of claim 3, wherein the signal processor is further configured to control the communication interface to receive control parameters and to control the digital to analog converter array and the power according to the control parameters An operational state of the amplifier, wherein the control parameter comprises at least one or a combination of a power amplification factor, a pulse repetition frequency, a transmission control parameter, and an echo reception control parameter.
The ultrasonic excitation device of claim 3, wherein the signal processor comprises:

a communication processing unit for controlling the communication interface;

Generating a waveform excitation signal for each channel based on the ultrasonic excitation parameters and writing the waveform excitation signal to a logic processing unit of the digital to analog converter array;

A beam combining unit for phase delaying a waveform excitation signal to be generated according to a focus parameter.
The ultrasonic excitation device according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic excitation device further comprises an echo acquisition module and an echo imaging module;

The echo acquisition module is configured to perform signal processing after acquiring an ultrasonic echo signal detected through the ultrasound transducer array, and convert the processed ultrasonic echo signal into a digital signal;

The echo imaging module is electrically connected to the echo collection module, and is configured to perform signal processing on the digital signal according to beamforming parameters to obtain corresponding ultrasonic echo data, and transmit the ultrasonic echo data to The computer device performs ultrasound imaging.
The ultrasonic excitation device according to claim 6, wherein the echo acquisition module comprises an ultrasonic simulation front end amplification unit and an analog signal acquisition unit;

The ultrasonic analog front end amplifying unit is electrically connected to the analog signal collecting unit, and is configured to send the ultrasonic echo signal to the analog signal collecting unit for analog-to-digital conversion after preamplification, filtering, and voltage controlled amplification. After that, the digital signal is output.
The ultrasonic excitation device of claim 1 wherein said ultrasound transducer array comprises an excitation probe and an imaging probe;

The excitation probe is configured to generate an ultrasonic wave according to a high voltage driving signal;

The imaging probe is configured to detect ultrasound echoes for imaging monitoring.
An ultrasonic excitation method for use in an ultrasonic excitation device according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that the method comprises:

After obtaining the ultrasonic excitation parameters of the respective channels, the waveform generator generates a waveform excitation signal for each channel according to the ultrasonic excitation parameters, wherein the ultrasonic excitation parameters include a waveform shape, a signal frequency, a signal amplitude, and a focusing parameter. At least one of the signal frequencies comprising a single frequency waveform frequency or a composite frequency waveform frequency;

The power amplifier performs power amplification of the waveform excitation signal to generate a high voltage driving signal and input to the ultrasonic transducer array;

The ultrasound transducer array generates ultrasound waves on respective array elements according to the high voltage drive signal, wherein the ultrasound transducer array includes a plurality of array elements, each array element corresponding to one channel.
An ultrasonic excitation system, characterized in that the ultrasonic excitation system comprises a computer device and the ultrasonic excitation device according to any one of claims 1-8;

The computer device is communicatively coupled to the ultrasonic excitation device for transmitting ultrasonic excitation parameters of each channel to the ultrasonic excitation device;

The ultrasonic excitation device generates a corresponding ultrasonic wave based on the ultrasonic excitation parameter, and transmits the ultrasonic echo data to the computer device after acquiring the ultrasonic echo data;

The computer device performs ultrasound imaging according to the ultrasound echo data to output a visualization image.