Multi-plane-transmit (MPT) Volumetric Imaging based on A Matrix Array: Experimental Validation

Multi-plane-transmit (MPT) is a matrix array based 3D beamforming methodology, which combines the features of diverging wave compounding (DWC) and multi-line-transmit (MLT). The MPT beams are diverging in one lateral dimension, while focused in the other lateral dimension, leading to a plane-wise reconstruction process. As a result, compounding is performed within the beam planes, while parallel transmit scanning is performed across the planes. In our previous work, computer simulations have proved that the proposed MPT setup outperforms 3D DWC and 3D MLT at a similar frame rate particularly for moving targets such as the heart. In this work, the first experimental validation experiments are conducted on a standard phantom to further investigate the performance of MPT. The experimental results show that the proposed MPT setup has better contrast ratio (CR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) when compared with 5 × 5 DWC, while frame rate is similar. Furthermore, the performance of different MPT setups was also investigated. These preliminary phantom experiments demonstrate the advantages of MPT beamforming.