Pipe organ inspires wide bandwidth ultrasound system

The researchers have created a miniaturised pipe organ, based on the pipes seen in the full-sized instrument.

According to the university, the device has been designed to improve images from scanners by broadening the range of frequencies used to emit sound waves. The researchers have demonstrated its ability to produce these frequencies and have created the best designs with a 3D printer.

The study has been published in IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control.

Prof Tony Mulholland, head of Strathclyde’s Department of Mathematics & Statistics and a partner in the research, said: “Musical instruments have a wide variety of designs but they all have one thing in common – they emit sound across a broad range of frequencies.  So, there is a treasure trove of design ideas for future medical imaging sensors lying waiting to be discovered amongst this vast array of designs.

“Around 20 per cent of medical scans are performed using ultrasound. The scanner creates images by emitting sound waves with a frequency that lies above human hearing.  The scanner operates at a single frequency - similar to a piano that can play just one note - and this accounts in part for the relatively poor resolution that one sees in ultrasound images.