Development of a Low-Cost Medical Ultrasound Scanner Using a Monostatic Synthetic Aperture.

Objective: In this paper, we present the design of low-cost medical ultrasound scanners aimed at the detection of maternal mortality risk factors in developing countries.

Method: Modern ultrasound scanners typically employ a high element count transducer array with multichannel transmit and receive electronics. To minimize hardware costs, we employ a single piezoelectric element, mechanically swept across the target scene, and a highly cost-engineered single channel acquisition circuit.