Experimental implementation of a synthesized two-dimensional phased array for transcranial imaging with aberration correction

Ultrasound (US) imaging of brain structures is a challenging, but highly promising diagnostic technology in medical ultrasound. Recent advances in transcranial US therapy suggest the potential to implement diagnostic US at higher frequencies, ideally for full brain imaging. In this work. we present experimental results of ultrasound imaging of spherical and tubular scatterers placed behind a skull phantom. The phantom was produced from a casting compound with acoustic properties matching those of skull. Phantom shape was defined from CT data of a human skull and 3D printing of a mold. A two-dimensional ultrasound array was simulated by mechanical translation of the focal spot of a broadband single-element 2 MHz transducer over the phantom surface. This synthesized array mimicked a 2D flexible phased array placed on the top of the patient's head. A pulse-echo technique was used for reconstructing the thickness of the skull phantom and detecting backscattered signals from the test objects. Transcranial image reconstruction was performed using a delay-and-sum technique that accounts for refraction and absorption inside the phantom. It was demonstrated that aberration correction using either straight rays or more accurate refracted raytracing yields significant improvement of image quality. [Work supported by RSF-14-15-00665.]