Virtual Real-Time for High PRF Multiline Vector Doppler on ULA-OP 256

The recent development of high-frame-rate (HFR) imaging/Doppler methods based on the transmission of plane or diverging waves, has proposed new challenges to echographic data management and display. Due to the huge amount of data that need to be processed at very high speed, the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) is typically limited to hundreds Hz or few kHz. In Doppler applications, a PRF limitation may result unacceptable since it inherently translates to a corresponding limitation in the maximum detectable velocity. In this paper, the ULA-OP 256 implementation of a novel ultrasound modality, called virtual real-time (VRT), is described. First, for a given HFR real-time modality, the scanner displays the processed results while saving channel data into an internal buffer. Then, ULA-OP 256 switches to VRT mode, according to which the raw data stored in the buffer are immediately re-processed by the same hardware used in real-time. In the two phases, the ULA-OP 256 calculation power can be differently distributed to increase the acquisition frame rate or the quality of processing results. VRT was here used to extend the PRF limit in a multi-line vector Doppler application. In real-time, the PRF was maximized at the expense of the display quality; in VRT, data were reprocessed at a lower rate in a high-quality display format, which provides more detailed flow information. Experiments are reported in which the multi-line vector Doppler technique is shown capable of working at 16 kHz PRF, so that flow jet velocities higher up to 3 m/s can be detected.