Computational design of foldable origami-based compressive ultrasound sensing

Abstract

Abstract Ultrasound imaging is an essential part of the modern clinical routine. However, its dependence on costly multichannel electronics limits its use in chronic monitoring of disease. Single-detector compressed-sensing approaches have been proposed to simplify the signal acquisition pipeline, but they suffer from reduced acoustic sensitivity due to reliance on multiple scattering topologies. We propose foldable origami structures with built-in ultrasound sensing capabilities for single-pixel imaging that increase the acoustic sensitivity by leveraging a foldable transducer geometry. By detecting ultrasound fields at various origami folding states, target images in two- and three-dimensions are recovered using model-based reconstruction techniques. We simulated the Foldable Origami-based Compressive Ultrasound Sensing (FOCUS) concept and inverse designed the origami geometry for maximum imaging performance. We quantified the performance of the FOCUS concept with the reconstruction accuracy of synthetic target images including point-scatterers and vessel-like structures, reaching an average structure similarity index measure of 0.63 and $$\:{L}_{2}$$ error of 11.89. We showed that the optimized FOCUS pattern remains effective even when exposed to geometric distortions and electrical noise. Our approach can tailor the FOCUS design to various targets, scales, and applications, potentially transforming ultrasound imaging devices through miniaturized single-channel electronics.