| The research package for a commercially available compact ultrasound system has been significantly expanded with two major enhancements: 1) a command-and-control system from an external computer that provides support for adjustment of imaging parameter values and for acquisition of raw data for off-line processing; 2) a single-zone research imaging mode that supports the receive data capture from 64 transducer channels simultaneously over multiple image frames. Two calibration studies using a 5-10 MHz linear array are presented. The first study involved pulse-echo imaging of line targets in a hypo-echoic phantom. Line spread functions of up to 4 cm depth are shown to be in good qualitative agreement with FIELD II simulations. The second study pertained to photoacoustic imaging of a human hair fiber, using an effective 128-element receive aperture achieved by combining channel data acquired with the left and right 64-element apertures. A photoacoustic B-mode image was obtained by standard ultrasound beamforming and detection methods. |