The Nickel

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Serious Tool, Compact Design. Our customers told us they wanted a service tool that could both rapidly and effectively evaluate the performance of the probe and the system. They wanted a cost effective design they could carry in their shirt pocket. We created The Nickel.

The Nickel senses acoustic pulses emitted by elements of an ultrasonic array probe and generates a return acoustic signal simulating a target. The sensor is an integral PVDF transducer designed for direct contact to the lens of the probe. The PVDF transducer assembly has a "V" or "Barn Roof" plastic lens with a peak dimension small enough to allow only acoustic energy from a single element assuming the peak of the roof is parallel to the element. The PVDF material is broadband, thus signals from any diagnostic imaging probe can be sensed. The user knows that a signal has been received when the LED on The Nickel goes from red to green

The received signal is amplified and then compared to a fixed reference level such that signals larger than the reference level indicate that an acoustic pulse has been received. Crossing this signal threshold level results in a digital signal that is sent to a CPLD (complex programmable logic device), which starts an oscillator (≈10 MHz) synchronous with the received pulse and contains counters used to generate three return targets back to the system.

The first target signal is 10 MHz and is transmitted continuously for 2 cm of depth from 3 to 5 cm. The second target is 5 MHz and is transmitted from 5 to 7 cm and the third target frequency is 2.5 MHz and is transmitted from the 7 to 9 cm. These returning signals are then displayed in real-time on the system monitor at various depths within the image format.
 

 
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