LINEAR HOLOGRAPHIC ULTRASONIC IMAGING, PHASE I

THIS PROPOSER'S RESEARCH IS INTENDED TO APPLY A TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED FOR NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING OF B-SCAN ULTRASONIC IMAGING. THIS TECHNOLOGY, LINEAR ULTRASONIC HOLOGRAPHY, PROMISES TO IMPROVE THE LATERAL RESOLUTION OF B-SCAN IMAGES SIGNIFICANTLY. IT DEPENDS HEAVILY ON THE RECENT INTRODUCTION OF HIGH-SPEED MICROPROCESSOR TECHNOLOGY, MAKINGIT POSSIBLE TO APPROACH REAL-TIME HOLOGRAPHIC IMAGING WITH ITS INHERENTLY SUPERIOR RESOLUTION. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL UTILIZE EQUIPMENT DEVELOPED UNDER THE SPONSORSHIP OF THE ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE (EPRI) FOR THE INSPECTION OF NUCLEAR PRESSURE VESSELS. THIS EQUIPMENT, WITH ALGORITHM MODIFICATIONS, WILL BE USED TO OBTAIN B-SCAN LIKE IMAGES OF THE AIUM STANDARD RESOLUTION TARGET AND A TISSUE EQUIVALENT PHANTOM, TO DETERMINE RESOLUTION AND IMAGE QUALITY. THIS, TOGETHER WITH A SYSTEMS ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE WHETHER REAL-TIME OPERATION IS PRACTICAL, WILL RESULT IN A DECISION FOR PHASE II PROPOSAL. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THIS PROGRAM WILL RESULT IN A MUCH IMPROVED ULTRASONIC IMAGE WHICH SHOULD ALLOW THE PHYSICIAN TO MAKE BETTER CLINICAL DECISIONS.