# Real-Time Volumetric Ultrasound Research Platform with 1024 Parallel Transmit and Receive Channels
## 4 Discussion
Although only a plane wave compounding beamforming approach is implemented so far in the clinical-styleuser interface \"USPilot\", arbitrary beamforming schemes can already be investigated in a more experimental system operation mode, where pre-computed transmit delays patterns can be loaded as tab-separated ASCII values in text files. The implementation of further reconstruction schemes, leading to improved contrast and resolution, is work in progress. The flexible and open system and software architecture provide full access to the signal generation and receive-data processing pipeline. This is particularly valuable in the context of the first envisioned use in therapy monitoring, where custom algorithms for tracking and analysis of radiation-sensitive microbubbles need to be integrated into the signal-processing pipeline. Compared to other systems available on the market, software interfaces for C# and C++ can be provided in addition to a MATLAB interface. In addition to the evaluation carried out so far, upcoming work will include the (real-time) implementation of further beamforming approaches, the optimization of the GPU reconstruction speed for the so-far implemented plane wave compounding and proof-of-concept of volumetric radiation-sensitive bubble tracking, which so far has only been carried out in 2D [16; 17]. Finally, testing of the system for compliance with medical device standards, in particular IEC 60601-1 electrical safety and IEC 60601-1-2 electromagnetic compatibility, is scheduled--a unique feature compared to other ultrasound research systems available on the market. This has already been successfully realized for the 256-channel sub-units of the system. The availability of corresponding test protocols, certifying compliance with the relevant safety standards that can be handed over to ethics committees, will ease the use of the system in clinical studies and thereby foster the transfer of new 3D ultrasound imaging approaches into clinical practice. Conceptualization, S.T., H.H. and C.R. ; methodology, H.H., C.R., H.F. and S.B.-H.; software, H.H. and S.W. ; validation, H.H., M.F., C.R., H.F., S.B.-H., S.W. and D.S. ; formal analysis, H.H., M.F., C.R., H.F., S.B.-H., S.W. and D.S. ; investigation, H.H. and M.F. ; resources, H.H. and M.F. ; data curation, H.H. and M.F. ; writing--original draft preparation, C.R. ; writing--review and editing, H.H. and M.F. ; visualization, H.H. ; supervision, S.T. and M.F. ; project administration, S.T. and M.F. ; funding acquisition, S.T. and M.F. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. This work is supported by the AMPHORA EU project (FET OPEN project no. 766456). Not applicable. Data Availability StatementData of this study can be requested from the corresponding author. We would like to thank the entire AMPHORA team, especially KU Leuven and the team by [PERSON], for the excellent cooperation and support. The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.