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un0rick open hardware

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Reference

This section collects component-level notes, breakout boards, curated links, and software tools developed alongside the un0rick project. These are useful if you are designing your own ultrasound hardware, debugging analog front-end issues, or looking for background reading.

Component breakout boards

Development boards designed and tested as part of the un0rick ecosystem. These are standalone boards that can be used independently or integrated with un0rick-family hardware.

AD8332 dual-VGA dev board

A development board for the Analog Devices AD8332 dual variable-gain amplifier. Provides up to 92 dB of gain — used in the lit3-32 board variant.

  • Gain range: -4.5 dB to +43.5 dB per channel (dual channel: up to ~92 dB total)
  • Input filter: Three 1206 footprints (one serial, two parallel to input signal) — easy to swap components
  • Output filter: 20 MHz LPF using 0603 SMD parts — replaceable with hot air station and tweezers
  • Source: GitHub repository

AD8332 test board

Test results show clean gain response across the control range:

AD8332 gain curve

Full details →

FT600 USB 3.0 PMOD

A PMOD board based on the FTDI FT600 chip, providing USB 3.0 data transfer capability. Originally designed as a high-speed data path for FPGA-based un0rick boards.

  • Interface: USB 3.0 (up to 200 MB/s theoretical)
  • Form factor: PMOD compatible
  • Source: GitHub repository

Full details →

MAX14866 multiplexer

A multiplexer board based on the Maxim MAX14866, used for switching between multiple transducer elements. Enables array imaging by sequentially connecting different elements to the TX/RX path.

  • Channels: Up to 16 elements (shared TX/RX) or 8 elements (separate TX/RX)
  • HV tolerant: Designed for high-voltage ultrasound pulses
  • Source: GitHub repository

Full details →

High-voltage power supply designs

Several HV supply designs were developed during the project for generating the transmit pulse voltage:

Design Output Input Notes Repository
pic0rick HV board +-25 V 5 V (USB) Recommended for pic0rick Included in pic0rick repo
LM3478 boost +-90 V (adjustable 80–200 V) 5 V Higher voltage for deeper penetration GitHub
HV9150 Adjustable HV output 5 V Alternative HV source GitHub
DRV8662 250 V unipolar 5 V Minimal BOM cost GitHub
HV general tests Various Various MAX1846 and HV9150 comparison GitHub

Software tools

pyusbus — Python APIs for USB ultrasound probes

GitHub repo size GitHub last commit

A number of USB ultrasound probes exist on the consumer market — compact, affordable devices that could be powerful research and education tools. The problem is that their communication protocols are locked behind proprietary drivers, and vendors rarely open their SDKs beyond basic image display.

pyusbus is a Python library that reverse-engineers the USB communication of these probes, providing an open API to acquire raw ultrasound frames directly. The goal is to get images from a USB probe in three lines of code:

import pyusbus as usbProbe
probe = usbProbe.UP20()
frames = probe.getImages(n=10)  # returns 10 frames

Supported probes

Probe Type API class Notes
Interson SeeMore Mechanical (single-element, motor-driven) usbProbe.Interson() Variable image width depending on motor speed. Based on Kitware’s IntersonManager references
BMV Convex Convex array usbProbe.CONV() Returns RF signals (not just envelope) — useful for research
Linear HP20L Linear array (B-mode) usbProbe.UP20() Returns envelope data with correct distance markers (mm)
BMV Doppler Linear array (B-mode + Doppler) usbProbe.DOPPLER() Supports both B-mode and Doppler acquisition modes

pyusbus acquisition demo — vein phantom and forearm

Installation 

git clone https://github.com/kelu124/pyusbus.git
cd pyusbus
bash build.sh
bash install.sh

On Linux, you need to set up udev rules so the probes are accessible without root. A rules.d.sh script is included in the repository. You may also need to add your user to the dialout group.

Why this matters

Having open drivers for USB ultrasound probes benefits both probe users (by providing an easy-to-use API with access to raw data) and researchers (by providing insights into probe internals that are normally hidden). The raw RF data from the BMV Convex probe, for example, opens up signal processing experiments that are impossible with the vendor’s display-only software.

Not all probe features are fully mapped yet — this is an active reverse-engineering effort. Contributions and bug reports are welcome on GitHub.

  • pyUProbe1 (15 stars) — A separate Python library for the uProbe-1 ultrasound probe. Similar approach, different probe hardware.

Signal processing

  • us_rf_processing — An introduction to ultrasound signal processing with raw RF data. Covers envelope extraction, FFT analysis, time-gain compensation, and basic scan conversion. Good starting point for understanding what to do with the raw data from the board.

Experiments and tutorials

Videos

Research bibliography

Analog front-end

  • Dhvani (MAX2082) — a board based on the MAX2082 ultrasound AFE. Alternative analog front-end approach.

echOmods (legacy modular system)

The original modular breadboard components that preceded the integrated boards. Each module handled one stage of the signal chain (pulser, TGC, ADC, etc.) on a separate board. Useful as a reference for understanding the signal chain in isolation.

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