A High-Voltage Ultrasound Phased Array System for Therapeutic Medical Applications

Research Poster Engineering 2025 Graduate Exhibition

Presentation by Ardavan Javid

Exhibition Number 166

Abstract

An ultrasound phased array with electronic steering and focusing capabilities can enable high-resolution, large-scale US interventions in various medical research and clinical experiments. For such applications involving different animal subjects and humans, the phased array system must provide flexibility in generating waveforms with different patterns, precise delay resolution between channels, and high voltage across US transducers to produce high US pressure output over extended durations. This poster presents two major projects: An ultrasound neural stimulation integrated circuit (IC) and a modular high-voltage ultrasound phased array system for therapeutic medical applications. The application-specific integrated circuit was designed and fabricated in a 250-nm BCD CMOS process, occupying an area of 8.7×6.6 mm2. Measurements demonstrate that its high-voltage drivers with programmable delay lines generate 50 V peak-to-peak pulses at 2 MHz, with a total delay range of 32.05 s with fine-tuning capability. The modular phased array system is capable of driving US transducers with pulses up to 100 V and a fine delay resolution of 5 ns, while providing a wide range of sonication waveforms. The electronics are integrated with a custom-built, 2 MHz, 16-element US transducer array with dimensions of 4.3×11.7×0.7 mm3. In measurements, the system achieved a peak-to-peak US pressure output of up to 6 MPa at a focal depth of 10 mm, with lateral and axial resolution of 0.6 mm and 4.67 mm, respectively. Finally, in-vivo experiments successfully demonstrated its ability to steer and focus the ultrasound beam for blood-brain barrier (BBB) opening in targeted brain regions.

Importance

Neurological disorders affected over 3 billion people globally in 2021, including stroke, dementia, diabetes-related nerve damage, and nervous system cancers. In the U.S., nearly 100 million people suffer from at least one neurological or neurodegenerative condition, including 6.9 million with Alzheimer’s and 3.4 million with epilepsy. As the population ages, the prevalence of these disorders continues to rise, highlighting the urgent need for advanced monitoring and treatment technologies. Our research focuses on developing specialized biomedical devices for neurological disease treatment, thereby improving patient outcomes and minimizing the impacts of these neurological disorders on society and the economy.