Electronic Flow Emulator for the Test of Ultrasound Doppler Sensors

Doppler ultrasound techniques are currently employed in several industrial, consumer, and biomedical applications. They are implemented in electronic systems of different complexity: from simple low-cost embedded boards to high-end echographs. The development, implementation, and periodic verification of such systems involve complex tests carried out through flow-rigs and phantoms. Unfortunately, these hydraulic circuits are affected by several issues, like the huge dimensions and the lack of an accurate reference for the velocity distribution developed by the fluid. In this work we present an innovative Flow Emulator Board (FEB). The FEB is compact and does not need moving fluids or pumps. Moreover, it produces a signal that mimics a programmable velocity profile with known characteristics. The FEB can replace the flow-rigs in most of the tests where Pulsed Wave Doppler (PWD) methods and PWD electronics systems are involved. The presented experiments show that the proposed FEB synthetizes arbitrary flow velocity profiles with programmable clutter, white noise, propagation attenuation, and sample volume extension; and show how FEB is employed for testing an industrial sensor and a research echograph.