A Multifunctional, Reconfigurable Pulse Generator for High-Frequency Ultrasound Imaging

High-frequency (>20 MHz) ultrasound (HFUS) imaging systems have made it possible to image small structures with fine spatial resolution. They find a variety of biomedical applications in dermatology, ophthalmology, intravascular imaging, and small-animal imaging. One critical technical challenge of HFUS is to generate high-voltage, high-frequency pulsed signals to effectively excite the transducer for a high SNR. This paper presents the development of a multifunctional, reconfigurable pulse generator for HFUS imaging. The pulse generator can produce a high-voltage unipolar pulse, a bipolar pulse, or arbitrary pulses for B-mode imaging, Doppler measurement, and modulated excitation imaging. The characteristics of the pulses, such as timing, waveform, and frequency are reconfigurable by a high-speed field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Customized software was developed to interface with the FPGA through a USB connector for pulse selection, and easy, flexible, real-time pulse management. The hardware was implemented in a compact, printed circuit board (PCB)-based scheme using state-of-the-art electronics for cost-effectiveness and fully digital control. Testing results show that the unipolar pulse can reach over 165 Vpp with a 6-dB bandwidth of 70 MHz, and the bipolar pulse and arbitrary pulses can reach 150 and 60 Vpp with central frequencies of 60 and 120 MHz, respectively.