a portable ultrasound imaging system includes a handheld scan head coupled by a cable to a portable battery - powered data processor and display unit , preferably in the form of a lap - top computer . the scan head enclosure houses an array of ultrasonic transducers and the circuitry associated therewith , including pulse synchronizer circuitry used in the transmit mode to time transmission of ultrasonic pulses and beam forming circuitry used in the receive mode to dynamically focus reflected ultrasonic signals returning from the region of interest being imaged . because the pulse synchronizer and beam forming circuits are integrated on small chips , they can be included in the scan head , resulting in a portable low - power system . also , since the beam forming and summation functions are performed in the scan head in proximity to the transducer elements , signal loss is substantially reduced , resulting in much higher image quality . in addition , the focused summed signal is transferred to the data processor and display unit by a cable which is far less sophisticated and expensive than the cables used in prior systems to transfer all of the transducer signals to a console signal processing unit .