3-D Imaging using Row-Column-Addressed 2-D Arrays with a Diverging Lens

It has been shown that row-column-addressed (RCA) 2-D arrays can be an inexpensive alternative to fully addressed 2-D arrays. Generally imaging with an RCA 2-D array is limited to its forward-looking volume region. Constructing a double-curved RCA 2-D array or applying a diverging lens over the flat RCA 2-D array, can extend the imaging field-of-view (FOV) to a curvilinear volume without increasing the aperture size, which is necessary for applications such as abdominal and cardiac imaging. Extended FOV and low channel count of double-curved RCA 2-D arrays make it possible to have 3-D imaging with equipment in the price range of conventional 2-D imaging. This study proposes a delay-and-sum (DAS) beamformation scheme specific to double-curved RCA 2-D arrays and validates its focusing ability based on simulations. A synthetic aperture imaging (SAI) sequence with single element transmissions at a time, is designed for imaging down to 14 cm at a volume rate of 88 Hz. The curvilinear imaging performance of a lambda/2-pitch 3MHz 62+62 RCA 2-D array is investigated as a function of depth, using a diverging lens with f-number of -1. The results of this study demonstrate that the proposed beamforming approach is accurate for achieving correct time-of-flight calculations, and hence avoids geometrical distortions.