Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique Using the Envelope Function for Ultrasonic Imaging

In traditional ultrasonic imaging systems, a transducer is scanned across the surface of a specimen at constant intervals. Synthetic aperture focusing techniques (SAFT) have been utilized extensively to process the RF data in order to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of the image [1]. However, the implementation of the algorithm using sampled RF data has the disadvantage of requiring large memory and high-speed devices. These requirements can be reduced by using the envelope of the RF signal which involves processing the baseband signal. The envelope detection can be easily implemented as part of the receiver circuit.