Ultrasonic signal acquisition in the digital beamformer

A receive beamformer, and ultrasound system incorporating such a receive beamformer, is constructed to implement multi-bit analog to digital conversion in such a way that the need for gain control in the channel architecture preceding the digital conversion circuitry is obviated. Accordingly, the beamformer and any ultrasound system incorporating it may realize a rigorous level of ADC performance at desirable output rates, and a lower cost. Preferably, the invention construction realizes a level of performance by which CW Doppler may be digitized in the same manner as very wide-band pulsed-wave signals.