Practical Guide to Ultrasound Beam Forming: Beam Pattern and Image Reconstruction Analysis

Abstract

Starting from key ultrasound imaging features such as spatial and temporal resolution, contrast, penetration depth, array aperture, and field-of-view (FOV) size, the reader will be guided through the pros and cons of the main ultrasound beam-forming techniques. The technicalities and the rationality behind the different driving schemes and reconstruction modalities will be reviewed, highlighting the requirements for their implementation and their suitability for specific applications. Techniques such as multi-line acquisition (MLA), multi-line transmission (MLT), plane and diverging wave imaging, and synthetic aperture will be discussed, as well as more recent beam-forming modalities.

Keywords

• medical ultrasound
• beam forming
• ultrasound imaging
• multi-line acquisition
• multi-line transmission
• plane wave
• diverging wave
• synthetic aperture
• parallel beam forming
• beam pattern
• image reconstruction