Automated head and transducer support (AHATS) system for ultrasound data collection
Andrew Jon Lundberg, Maureen L. Stone, Edward P. Davis · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 2001
Ultrasound has been shown to be a useful tool for measuring the vocal tract during speech. This is largely because ultrasound is noninvasive, safe, relatively inexpensive, and can capture 2-D images at video frame rates. In previous work, a head and transducer support (HATS) system was developed which allowed stable positioning of the subject and the ultrasound transducer, and led to improved measurement accuracy. We have now automated the system (AHATS), replacing the manually positioned transducer holder with a computer controlled robotic arm that supports automatic positioning and logging of the transducer holder. Computer controlled positioning of the data collection device increases the speed at which we can collect ultrasound data sets with multiple image planes. It also increases our confidence in the accuracy of combined 3-D data sets (composed of multiple 2-D data collections within the 3-D space), and facilitates efficient 3-D reconstructions which require data collection positions to be optimized for individual subjects. [Supported by NIH-NIDCD DC01758 and Northrop Grumman, Inc.]