Ultrasound Scan Converter Implemented on Xilinx Zynq-7000 All Programmable Systems-on-chip

Ultrasound imaging is widely used in medical diagnostics. One of its critical processing algorithms is scan conversion (SC). Although there is extensive research on ultrasound imaging, novel schemes for SC using System on Chips (SoCs) and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are expected to improve image quality. This article aims to assess the SC image processing technique on a Xilinx ZedBoard development kit. This board has a Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoCs, which was used to execute the proposed SC algorithm with real ultrasound data from a multipurpose phantom. The results of the experimental data investigations are quantitatively and qualitatively compared with the results of a Matlab simulation. The image output is displayed on a monitor screen through the VGA port of the board. A significant agreement between the simulated and practical images was observed, with CR and CNR errors of 2.63% and 3.38%, respectively, and with minor artifacts caused by precision and interpolation differences. In conclusion, the proposed SC scheme was satisfactorily implemented on the ZedBoard, and future studies may explore other processing steps on this platform.