Ultrasonic micro-arrays for imaging the human auditory system

超声是一种安全、廉价、可靠的获取生物组织实时图像的方法。超声系统的分辨率主要由换能器的工作频率决定。高频超声成像系统具有比常规低频系统大得多的分辨率，并且通常可以以有限的穿透深度（< 1 cm）为代价分辨尺寸在20微米和100微米之间的组织结构。尽管穿透深度有限，但该技术作为用于可视化小的次表面组织结构的成像技术具有很大的潜力。虽然高频超声已成功应用于血管内成像、眼科成像和临床前小动物成像，但它尚未充分发挥其作为常规诊断工具的潜力。其主要原因是，随着换能器工作频率的增加，超声换能器的尺寸成比例地减小，使得它们极难制造。 然而，如果这些制造问题能够被克服，那么相对于目前使用的相对简单的高频系统，可以获得图像质量的极大改善。这可能会导致该技术的常规临床应用，并创造许多新的临床和商业机会。

Ultrasound is a safe, cheap, and reliable method of obtaining real-time images of biological tissue. The resolution of an ultrasound system is primarily determined by the operating frequency of the transducer. High-frequency ultrasound imaging systems have much greater resolution than conventional low-frequency systems and can typically resolve tissue structures between 20 and 100 microns in size at the cost of a limited penetration depth (< 1 cm). In spite of the limited penetration depth, this technology has great potential as an imaging technique for visualizing small sub-surface tissue structures. While high-frequency ultrasound has been successfully applied to intravascular imaging, ophthalmic imaging, and pre-clinical small animal imaging, it has not yet realized its full potential as a routine diagnostic tool. The primary reason for this is that as the transducer operating frequency increases, the dimensions of the ultrasound transducer decreases proportionally, making them extremely difficult to fabricate. If these fabrication issues can be overcome, however, a great improvement in image quality can be obtained over the relatively unsophisticated high-frequency systems that are currently used. This could potentially lead to the routine clinical use of this technology and create many new clinical and commercial opportunities.