Contribution to the Development of a Smart Ultrasound Scanner: Design and Analysis of the High-Voltage Power Supply of the Transmitter
Nicolas Daniel Mbele Ndzana,
Claude Bernard Lekini Nkodo,
Aristide Tolok Nelem,
Mathieu Jean Pierre Pesdjock,
Yannick Antoine Abanda,
Achille Melingui,
Odile Fernande Zeh,
Pierre Ele
Affiliations
Nicolas Daniel Mbele Ndzana
Laboratory of Electrical, Mechatronic Engineering and Signal Processing, University of Yaounde I, Yaoundé P.O. Box 8390, Cameroon
Claude Bernard Lekini Nkodo
Laboratory of Electrical, Mechatronic Engineering and Signal Processing, University of Yaounde I, Yaoundé P.O. Box 8390, Cameroon
Aristide Tolok Nelem
Laboratory of Electrical, Mechatronic Engineering and Signal Processing, University of Yaounde I, Yaoundé P.O. Box 8390, Cameroon
Mathieu Jean Pierre Pesdjock
Research Unit of Automatic and Applied Computer Science, IUT Fotso Victor, University of Dschang, Bandjoun P.O. Box 96, Cameroon
Yannick Antoine Abanda
Higher Technical Teachers’ Training College, University of Ebolowa, Ebolowa P.O. Box 786, Cameroon
Achille Melingui
Laboratory of Electrical, Mechatronic Engineering and Signal Processing, University of Yaounde I, Yaoundé P.O. Box 8390, Cameroon
Odile Fernande Zeh
Department of Medical Imaging and Radiotherapy, Faculty of Medecine and Biomedical Sciences of Yaounde, University of Yaounde I, Yaoundé P.O. Box 8390, Cameroon
Pierre Ele
Laboratory of Electrical, Mechatronic Engineering and Signal Processing, University of Yaounde I, Yaoundé P.O. Box 8390, Cameroon
A smart ultrasound scanner plays an important role in the transition to point-of-care imaging. DC–DC bipolar converters are essential in the generation of the ultrasound burst signal as they power the piezoelectric transducer. The conventional bipolar converter has minimal output gain and high-voltage stress, and the longer duty cycle on the semiconductors produces high conduction losses and reduces the efficiency of the system. The transmitter supply voltage is minimal, necessitating the use of high-gain bipolar converters. This proposed study is concerned with the development of an improved high-output voltage gain symmetric bipolar DC–DC converter topology which may be suitable for applications such as powering a smart ultrasound scanner transmitter. The proposed converter combines the conventional single-ended primary inductor converter (SEPIC) with a voltage multiplier cell (VMC) to improve voltage gain, transistor duty cycle, efficiency, and reliability. The present study describes the working principle of the proposed converter. The analysis of the voltage gain is carried out in continuous current mode (CCM) and discontinuous current mode (DCM), taking into account the nonidealities of the device. The simulation of the proposed system is carried out in the numerical environment Matlab/Simulink in order to verify its characteristics. A prototype model is realized and the experimental study presented validates the theoretical arguments and simulations. Due to the advantages of continuous input current, self-balancing bipolar outputs, and small component size, the proposed converter is a suitable choice for smart ultrasound transmitters.
