Ultrasound open platforms are programmable and flexible tools for the development and test of novel methods. In most cases, they embed the electronics for the independent control of (maximum) 256 probe elements. However, a higher number of channels is needed for the control of 2-D array probes. This paper presents a system architecture that, through the hardware and software synchronization of multiple ULA-OP 256 scanners, may implement advanced open platforms with an arbitrary number of channels. The proposed solution needs a single personal computer, maintains real-time features, and preserves portability. A prototype demonstrator, composed of two ULA-OP 256 scanners connected to 512 elements of a matrix array, was implemented and tested according to different channel configurations. Experiments performed under MATLAB control confirmed that by doubling the number of elements (from 256 to 512) the signal-to-noise and contrast ratios improve by 9 dB and 3 dB, respectively. Furthermore, as a full 512-channel scanner, the demonstrator can produce real-time B-mode images at 18 Hz, high enough for probe positioning during acquisitions. Also, the demonstrator permitted the implementation of a new high frame rate, bi-plane, triplex modality. All probe elements are excited to simultaneously produce two planar, perpendicular diverging waves. Each scanner independently processes the echoes received by the 256 connected elements to beamform 1300 frames per second. For each insonified plane, good quality morphological (B-mode), qualitative (color flow-), and quantitative (spectral-) Doppler images are finally shown in real-time by a dedicated interface.

中文翻译：

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具有任意数量的独立通道的超声高级开放平台的体系结构。

超声波开放平台是用于开发和测试新方法的可编程且灵活的工具。在大多数情况下，它们嵌入电子器件以独立控制（最多）256个探头元件。但是，控制二维阵列探针需要更多的通道。本文提出了一种系统架构，通过多个ULA-OP 256扫描仪的硬件和软件同步，可以实现具有任意数量通道的高级开放平台。提出的解决方案仅需一台个人计算机，即可维护实时功能并保持可移植性。原型演示器由两个ULA-OP 256扫描仪组成，分别连接到矩阵阵列的512个元素，并根据不同的通道配置进行了测试。在MATLAB控制下进行的实验证实，通过将元素数量加倍（从256个增加到512个），信噪比和对比度将分别提高9 dB和3 dB。此外，作为一个完整的512通道扫描仪，该演示器可以产生18 Hz的实时B模式图像，该图像足够高，可以在采集过程中定位探头。此外，演示者允许实施新的高帧频，双平面，三重模式。激发所有探针元件以同时产生两个平面的垂直发散波。每个扫描仪独立处理由256个连接的元件接收的回波，以每秒形成1300帧的波束形。对于每个被声穿透的平面，高质量的形态学（B模式），定性的（色流），