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EP-3435882-B1 - SERIAL INTERFACE FOR PARAMETER TRANSFER IN AN ULTRASOUND DEVICE

EP3435882B1EP 3435882 B1EP3435882 B1EP 3435882B1EP-3435882-B1

Inventors

  • BAO, LIEWEI
  • CHEN, KAILIANG
  • RALSTON, TYLER S.
  • SANCHEZ, NEVADA J.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20170331

Claims (18)

  1. A method of controlling a plurality of pulsers (103 1 ... 103 N ) coupled to a plurality of ultrasonic transducers (101 1 ...101 N ), the method comprising: with transmit circuitry, transmitting a serial stream of control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) specifying operation of the plurality of pulsers (103 1 ... 103 N ) to create a plurality of pulse segments of a plurality of multi-level electric waveforms which drive the ultrasonic transducers, wherein the control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) are generated by accessing in memory a number of master segments so that a control data packet may correspond to one or more master segments, and wherein the control data packets include values that define the characteristics of a corresponding pulse segment for controlling the plurality of pulsers to create the plurality of pulse segments; with decoding circuitry (105 1 ... 105 N ), receiving the serial stream of the control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ), decoding the serial stream of the control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) including performing a serial-to-parallel conversion, and transmitting the decoded control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) to the plurality of pulsers (103 1 ... 103 N ) in parallel; and with the plurality of pulsers (103 1 ... 103 N ), generating a plurality of pulses (320; 301) based on the received control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ).
  2. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating an acoustic ultrasound waveform segment using at least one ultrasonic transducer of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers (101 1 ...101 N ), in response to generating a plurality of pulses (320; 301).
  3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one pulser of the plurality of pulsers (103 1 ... 103 N ) comprises a first transistor (127) and a second transistor (129), and wherein at least one control data packet of the serial stream of the control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) comprises a value representing a first conductive state associated with the first transistor (127) and a second conductive state associated with the second transistor (129); and the method further comprises causing the first transistor (127) to assume the first conductive state and the second transistor (129) to assume the second conductive state based on the value.
  4. The method of claim 1, wherein decoding the serial stream of the control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) further includes modulating at least one control data packet of the serial stream of the control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) to obtain spatial apodization across the plurality of pulsers (103 1 ... 103 N ).
  5. The method of claim 1, wherein a first control data packet of the control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) includes a field identifying a duration.
  6. The method of claim 1, wherein a first control data packet of the control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) includes a field (312 B ) identifying a reference voltage.
  7. The method of claim 1, wherein a first control data packet of the control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) includes a field (312 A ) identifying a conductivity state of a transistor (127, 129).
  8. The method of claim 1, wherein a first control data packet of the control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) is a multi-field data packet including a first field (312 B ) having an indication of a reference voltage and a second field having an indication of a duration.
  9. The method of claim 1, comprising transmitting the serial stream of control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) via a delay mesh (269) to achieve temporal apodization.
  10. An apparatus (100) comprising: a plurality of ultrasonic transducers (101 1 ...101 N ); a plurality of pulsers (103 1 ... 103 N ) coupled to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers (101 1 ...101 N ); transmit circuitry coupled to the plurality of pulsers (103 1 ... 103 N ) and configured to transmit a serial stream of control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) specifying operation of the plurality of pulsers (103 1 ... 103 N ) to create a plurality of pulse segments of a plurality of electric multi-level waveforms which drive the ultrasonic transducers, wherein the control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) are generated by accessing in memory a number of master segments so that a control data packet may correspond to one or more master segments, and wherein the control data packets include values that define the characteristics of a corresponding pulse segment for controlling the plurality of pulsers to create the plurality of pulse segments; and decoding circuitry (105 1 ... 105 N ) configured to receive the serial stream of the control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ), to decode the serial stream of the control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) including performing a serial-to-parallel conversion and to transmit the decoded control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) to the plurality of pulsers (103 1 ... 103 N ) in parallel, wherein the plurality of pulsers (103 1 ... 103 N ) are configured to generate a plurality of pulses (320; 301) based on the received control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ).
  11. The apparatus (100) of claim 10, wherein at least one control data packet of the serial stream of control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) comprises a value representing one reference voltage of a plurality of reference voltages, such that the multi-level electric waveform can assume any one of the reference voltages.
  12. The apparatus (100) of claim 10, wherein the first pulser comprises a first transistor (127) and a second transistor (129), and wherein the at least one control data packet of the serial stream of control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) comprises a value representing a first conductive state associated with the first transistor (127) and a second conductive state associated with the second transistor (129).
  13. The apparatus (100) of claim 10, wherein a first pulser of the plurality of pulsers (103 1 ... 103 N ) comprises a bipolar pulser.
  14. The apparatus (100) of claim 10, wherein the plurality of pulsers (103 1 ... 103 N ) and the plurality of ultrasonic transducers (101 1 ...101 N ) are integrated on a silicon substrate (112).
  15. The apparatus (100) of claim 10, further comprising a delay mesh circuit (269) configured to delay at least one control data packet of the serial stream of control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ).
  16. The apparatus (100) of claim 10, wherein the decoding circuitry (105 1 ... 105 N ) is further configured to modulate the serial stream of control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) to obtain spatial apodization across the plurality of pulsers (103 1 ... 103 N ).
  17. The apparatus (100) of claim 10, wherein a first ultrasonic transducer of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers (101 1 ...101 N ) coupled to a first pulser of the plurality of pulsers (103 1 ... 103 N ) is configured to generate an acoustic ultrasound waveform in response to providing to the first pulser of the plurality of pulsers (103 1 ... 103 N ) the received control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ).
  18. The apparatus (100) of claim 10, wherein the transmit circuitry is configured to transmit the serial stream of control data packets (311 1 , 311 2 ...311 k ) via a delay mesh (269) to achieve temporal apodization.

Description

BACKGROUND Field The specification relates to transmit generators in ultrasound devices, and related methods and apparatus. Related Art Some ultrasound devices include a waveform generator which provides electric waveforms to a pulser. In response, the pulser controls an ultrasonic transducer to emit ultrasound acoustic waves. US 2015/0301165 A1 discloses an ultrasound device circuitry as may form part of a single substrate ultrasound device having integrated ultrasonic transducers. The ultrasound device circuitry may facilitate the generation of ultrasound waveforms. US 2015/0092515 A1 discloses an apparatus which is a portable ultrasound probe having transducer elements and supporting electronics within the probe. The beam is shaped to split the resolution to sub-pixel accuracy. Super resolution sample technique based on interpolation can be used to further increase resolution. The ultrasound system may support 1/2 crystal physical resolution and 1/4 crystal digital resolution. WO 2010/055427 A1 discloses an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system transmitter which produces transducer drive pulses of two or more bipolar pulse levels. The transmitter includes a first pair of drive transistors coupled between a first pair of bipolar high voltage levels and having an output coupled to an output terminal. A second pair of drive transistors is coupled between a second pair of bipolar high voltage levels and has an output coupled to the output terminal. Control logic is responsive to control bits for selecting one of the pairs of drive transistors and the polarity of the output pulse. Level translation circuitry translates control signals from the control logic to drive signals for the high voltage drive transistors, a active pull-to-ground circuit is operable to pull the output level to ground following an output pulse to control ringdown of the ultrasound transducer driven by the transmitter, and to present a high output impedance at the output when the transmitter is not enabled. BRIEF SUMMARY The present invention provides a method of controlling a plurality of pulsers coupled to a plurality of ultrasonic transducers in accordance with claim 1 . The present invention also provides an apparatus in accordance with claim 10 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Various aspects and embodiments of the specification will be described with reference to the following figures. It should be appreciated that the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Items appearing in multiple figures are indicated by the same reference number in all the figures in which they appear. FIG. 1A illustrates schematically a block diagram of an ultrasound device comprising a plurality of pulsing circuits and a plurality of decoding circuits, according to a non-limiting embodiment of the specification.FIG. 1B illustrates a circuit diagram of a pulsing circuit comprising two transistors, according to one aspect of the specification.FIG. 1C illustrates schematically a block diagram of an ultrasound device comprising a waveform generator, according to some non-limiting embodiments.FIG. 2A shows an illustrative arrangement of a transducer array, according to a non-limiting embodiment of the specification.FIG. 2B illustrates schematically a block diagram of a waveform generator comprising a a plurality of packet generators, according to a non-limiting embodiment of the specification.FIG. 2C illustrates schematically a block diagram of an ultrasound device comprising a plurality of decoding circuits, according to a non-limiting embodiment of the specification.FIG. 3A illustrates a data path diagram showing a succession of packets, according to a non-limiting embodiment of the specification.FIG. 3B illustrates a time diagram showing an exemplary multi-level pulse formed through a succession of packets, according to a non-limiting embodiment of the specification.FIG. 4 illustrates a method of controlling a plurality of pulsers coupled to a plurality of ultrasonic transducers, according to a non-limiting embodiment of the specification. DETAILED DESCRIPTION An ultrasound probe may include integrated circuitry for generating waveforms emitted by the probe. The integrated circuitry may be fabricated on a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) die, also referred to herein as a "chip." In some embodiments, ultrasonic transducers may be integrated with the CMOS chip, thus forming an ultrasound-on-a-chip device. For example, the ultrasonic transducers may be capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs), which may be integrated with the integrated circuitry on the CMOS die. The integrated circuitry may include waveform generation circuitry configured to produce the electric waveforms which drive the ultrasonic transducers. Aspects of the specification provide programmable waveform generators for controlling pulsers of an ultrasound device to create multi-level pulses. Applicant has appreciated that ultrasound devices configured to generate mul