The figure on this slide shows the main components of an ultrasound system. An ultrasound image formation begins at the beamformer control unit, shown on the top right-hand corner of the diagram. The transmit beamformer with the high voltage pulser generate electrical pulses that create the excitation of the transducer element. The transducer element, or the probe as it is generally called, is made up of piezoelectric material. Its job is to convert the pulses into acoustic waves which are propagated into the body. The waves encounter the tissues and are reflected back into the transducer which converts them back into electrical signals. These electrical signals enter the receive path into the high voltage multiplexer, then the T/R switch and into the analog front end. The analog front end is where the electrical signals are amplified, filtered, and converted into a digital format. Once in the digital format, the signal is now ready for processing. It is here that the functionality that determines differentiation in a system occurs.