SBIR Phase I: Beamforming Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) for Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) and Medical Ultrasound

该小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目将开发先进的超声波波束成形专用集成电路（ASIC）芯片。波束形成器ASIC将使三维成像能够用于心内导管成像、手术器械引导和肿瘤消融。这个项目中提出的集成水平、操作频率和可伸缩性从未被尝试过。第一阶段工作的目的是确定这种ASIC的可行性。要完成此任务： (1)将开发一个有限元基片噪声模型，并用于评估噪声对信号完整性的影响;（2）将使用基于MATLAB的结构模拟器对信号路径进行建模，该结构模拟器体现了ASIC的精确数值和采样率表示;以及（3）将获得芯片的部分电路设计，为第二阶段的后期开发做准备。侵入性和非破坏性的调查活的和无生命的物体，从诊断产科应用到航空航天结构的缺陷检测。所有成像超声机器共享的基本功能是波束成形。在第一阶段SBIR工作中提出的波束成形ASIC将以超越医疗和非破坏性评估中大多数应用的技术要求为明确目的而开发。ASIC的显著性能优势将使其成为仪器制造商的有吸引力的选择。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an advanced ultrasonic beamforming Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) chip. The beamformer ASIC will enable three-dimensional imaging to be employed in intra-cardiac catheter imaging, surgical guidance of instruments, and tumor ablation. The level of integration, frequency of operation, and scalability proposed in this project have never been attempted. The purpose of the Phase I effort is determine the feasibility of this ASIC. To accomplish this task: (1) a finite element substrate noise model will be developed and used to evaluate the effect of noise on signal integrity; (2) the signal path will be modeled using a MATLAB-based architectural simulator embodying the exact numerical and sampling rate representations of the ASIC; and (3) a partial circuit design of the chip will be obtained in preparation for later stages of development in Phase II.Diagnostic ultrasound is used to non-invasively and non-destructively investigate both living and inanimate objects, spanning applications from diagnostic obstetrics to defect detection in aerospace structures. The fundamental function shared by all imaging ultrasound machines is beamforming. The beamforming ASIC proposed in this Phase I SBIR effort will be developed with the explicit purpose of exceeding the technical requirements of most applications in both medical and non-destructive evaluation. The significant performance advantages featured by the ASIC will make it an attractive choice to instrument makers.