In a move poised to elevate the standards of both medical diagnostics and industrial non-destructive testing (NDT), the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) has developed a novel detachable acoustic lens that enables easy and precise adjustment of focal length in ultrasonic imaging equipment.
Analogous to changing lenses on a DSLR camera to capture clearer images, this breakthrough allows operators to customize the resolution of ultrasound imaging systems according to specific inspection targets—without replacing the transducer. The advancement is set to offer significant improvements in accuracy, particularly in C-scan ultrasound methods, which are widely employed in cancer detection and the inspection of critical infrastructure such as aircraft components and pipelines.
Conventional focused ultrasound transducers come with fixed focal lengths, often requiring users to purchase multiple units to suit different applications—an approach that is both expensive and inflexible. KRISS has addressed this challenge with its detachable lens technology, which enables dynamic focal adjustment while using the same base equipment.
Crucially, the newly developed lens features an aspheric design that reduces spherical aberrations typically found in traditional spherical lenses. This refinement leads to sharper imaging edges and higher clarity. The lens also boasts a foldable structure, allowing size adaptability based on the transducer or surface area.
The innovation is effective not only with high-resolution focused transducers but also enhances the performance of flat ultrasound transducers, bringing them closer to focused-transducer standards. In testing, the lens allowed visualization of structures as small as 25 micrometers, delivering image resolution approximately 1.5 times better than systems without the lens.
“We plan to expand the application of this lens design technology beyond C-scan systems to various types of ultrasound imaging,” said Dr. Kim Yong Tae, Principal Research Scientist of the Acoustics, Ultrasound and Vibration Metrology Group at KRISS.
As ultrasound imaging continues to play a critical role in healthcare and industrial safety, this lens technology may redefine precision standards in both sectors.
Reference: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-06-ultrasound-imaging-detachable-acoustic-lens.html
