Software-gated pulse-Doppler ultrasound for a DSP-based blood flowmeter

Abstract

Traditional short-gate pulse-Doppler devices rely on hardware gating to measure a blood vessel's velocity profile. In the same spirit as software radio, advanced digital signal processor (DSP) technologies suggest software gating as an alternative to traditional hardware gating methods. By way of computer simulation, this paper explores the viability of a software-gated pulse-Doppler technique for measuring a blood vessel's velocity profile. Simulations utilize a particle model that is then mixed, filtered, and sampled. Spectral analysis provides velocity profile information. Preliminary results suggest software gating is not only feasible but, also advantageous.