| 摘要 |
The invention relates to an imaging method and system for providing acoustic images of a surface or boundary and more particularly, but not exclusively, to acoustic imaging of a surface or boundary within a confined space. Also described are an acoustic probe 2 and a transmit/receive sensor array 4, 8 configuration for implementing the imaging method and system. The probe 2 has an array of acoustic transmitters 4 arranged in juxtaposed or spaced relationship around at least a portion of the circumferential surface of the probe 2, and an array of acoustic receivers 8 also disposed around at least a portion of its circumferential surface. Beam forming is used for focussing and steering the acoustic beams from the acoustic transmitter array 4 onto portions of the structure or boundary to be examined and for focussing and steering the receive beams onto said surface or boundary portions, said beam forming means adapted to cause the acoustic transmit beams to be focussed in a plane orthogonal to the plane used to focus the receive beams. High resolution in the near field can be achieved by focussing the transmit and receive beams onto a surface or boundary at a focus region, the focus region being narrow in both the orthogonal planes. |
