Phased Array (PA)

Phased Array (PA) ultrasonics is an advanced method of ultrasonic testing that has applications in medical imaging and industrial nondestructive testing, originally pioneered by Albert Macovski of Stanford University.[1] In medicine a common application of phased array is the imaging of the heart (images of the fetus in the womb are usually made by curvilinear array, a multi-element probe that does not actually phase the signals). When applied to steel the PA image shows a slice that may reveal defects hidden inside a structure or weld.

Principle of operation

The PA probe consists of many small ultrasonic elements, each of which can be pulsed individually. By varying the timing, for instance by pulsing the elements one by one in sequence along a row, a pattern of interference is set up that results in a beam at a set angle. In other words, the beam can be steered electronically. The beam is swept like a search-light through the tissue or object being examined, and the data from multiple beams are put together to make a visual image showing a slice through the object.