A new transducer for 3D harmonic imaging

Abstract

We developed a fast rotating ultrasound transducer for 3D-echocardiography containing a broadband linear array. In the harmonic mode the tissue to clutter ratio was measured as function of frequency. This resulted in an optimal harmonic transmit frequency of 2.0 MHz. In-vitro evaluation, using the optimal frequency, showed an average volume error, for 5 reconstructed agar phantoms, of approximately 1%. Further, a clinical case study proved the feasibility of dynamic left ventricular volume measurements for the transducer.