Development of a Portable and Inexpensive Ultrasound Imaging Device for Use in the Developing World

People in developing countries have limited access to lifesaving diagnostic equipment. Because medical imaging devices are stationary and costly, there exists a need for imaging technology that is not only accurate and portable, but also inexpensive. To address this issue, we developed and tested an inexpensive portable ultrasound device. Three microprocessing boards compose the device: a SeeedStudio BeagleBone Green, an Arduino Uno, and a Murgen board. The BeagleBone powers and controls the Murgen board. The Murgen board pulses a 5MHz singleelement transducer, rotated by the Arduino, and receives the echoes. We programmed acquisition and image reconstruction procedures for the device and assessed the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in images of high-contrast graphite laboratory phantoms as well as standard clinical phantoms manufactured by Computerized Imaging Reference Systems, Inc. (CIRS). Reconstructed images of laboratory phantoms yielded an SNR of 9.3 dB, which was acceptable for imaging high-contrast targets. Some targets in the CIRS phantom were visible, but the SNR remained below an acceptable threshold, revealing the need for additional signal processing and noise reduction. All in all, we have demonstrated the feasibility of, identified further improvement for, and laid the foundation for an inexpensive portable ultra-sound device.