open-UST: An Open Source Manufacturing Framework for a Low-cost Ultrasound Tomography Research System.

There is a high barrier to entry for researchers starting ultrasound tomography (UST) experiments: UST hardware is not available off the shelf, and custom systems are expensive. The goal of the open-UST project is to lower the barrier to entry for experimental UST researchers, by providing a manufacturing framework that allows end users to build their own UST transducers in-house.

open-UST is part of an ongoing research project, guided by three objectives:

1. High accessibility for end users.
2. Nominal acoustic behaviour that supports UST imaging research.
3. Low inter-element variation (IEV) in acoustic behaviour.

Features

• Simple equipment requirements: No specialist equipment required, only a 3D-printer, vacuum chamber and standard workshop tooling.
• Low material cost: ~£2k (excluding DAQ hardware) for a 256-element system.
• Modular: Both 2D and 3D imaging setups can be configured.
• Low interelement variation: Recent testing showed that the individual sensing elements have uniform acoustic behaviour.
• Other:
  • Fully waterproof
  • Electromagnetically shielded
  • Transducer modules feature threaded mounting points for repeatable positioning
  • Includes option for a modular interface with the ITT Cannon DL5-260P connector (compatible with Verasonics)

Hardware Distribution and Documentation

To access the design and manufacture files, clone this repository locally:

git clone https://github.com/morganjroberts/open-UST

The design and manufacture files are located in the hardware-distribution directory.

For the accompanying manufacturing documentation, please visit morganjroberts.github.io/open-UST.

Citing open-UST

Please cite this article if you use open-UST in your research:

@article{roberts2023open,
  title     = {open-UST: An Open-Source Ultrasound Tomography Transducer Array System},
  author    = {Roberts, Morgan and Martin, Eleanor and Brown, Michael D and Cox, Ben T and Treeby, Bradley E},
  journal   = {IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control},
  year      = {2023},
  publisher = {IEEE},
  doi       = {10.1109/TUFFC.2023.3280635}
}

Contact

open-UST is an ongoing research project from the Biomedical Ultrasound Group (University College London).

For questions, suggestions and feedback, please contact Morgan Roberts at [email protected].