Sound Technology, Inc.

Bk Medical Aps

Christopher J Beers

Henrik Jensen

Joseph S Conklin

Russell W Woods

Dean A McHenry

Per Ehrenreich Nygaard

Robert Harold Owen

Kristine Gamble

Soren Juel Andersen

Niels Christian Sasady

Michael Berkheimer

A transducer probe includes a transducer array with rows of transducer elements that each extend in an elevation direction and is transverse to an azimuth direction, a matching layer disposed adjacent to the transducer array, and a focusing layer disposed adjacent to the matching layer. The focusing layer includes a first material with a first refractive index and a second material with a second refractive index, and the first refractive index is less than the second refractive index. The first and second materials are distributed in an alternating pattern with the first material at edges of the rows. First widths of the first material decrease from the edges towards a center of the rows, and second widths of the second material increase from the edges towards the center.

Ultrasound imaging probe with a gradient refractive index lens

An ultrasound probe includes a housing. The housing includes a first end, which internally houses: a transducer array and a tracking sensor, and a second end. The housing further includes a second portion extending between the first and second ends. The second portion houses: a first electrically conductive path extending from the transducer array through the second portion to the second end, which is opposite the first end, and a second electrically conductive path extending from the tracking sensor through the second portion to the second end. The probe further includes a single electro-mechanical connector with a physical interface configured to transfer signals carried by the first and second electrically conductive members off the probe. The probe further includes a single cable that routes the first and second electrically conductive members from the second end to the electro-mechanical connector.

Ultrasound imaging system probe cable and connector

An ultrasound imaging system () includes a transducer array () with a two-dimensional array of rows () of transducer elements (). The transducer elements of each row extend along a long axis (). The rows are parallel to each other. The transducer array includes a non-rectangular set of active transducer elements. The ultrasound imaging system further includes transmit circuitry () that actuates the transducer elements to transmit an ultrasound signal. The ultrasound imaging system further includes receive circuitry () that receives echoes produced in response to an interaction between the ultrasound signal and a structure and received by the transducer elements. The ultrasound imaging system further includes a beamformer that processes the echoes and generates one or more scan lines indicative of the structure.

Two-dimensional ultrasound imaging transducer array with a non-rectangular active sensing region

A transducer array for an ultrasound imaging system includes a substrate and a single array comprising individual sub-sets of transducer elements disposed on the substrate, wherein the individual sub-sets are physically separate from each other and spatially arranged contiguous to each other. An apparatus includes a transducer array with a substrate and a single array comprising individual sub-sets of transducer elements disposed on the substrate, wherein the individual sub-sets are not in physical contact with each other and are serially arranged with respect to each other. The apparatus further includes transmit circuitry that conveys an excitation pulse to the transducer array, receive circuitry that receives a signal indicative of an ultrasound echo from the transducer array, and a beamformer that processes the received signal, generating ultrasound image data.

Ultrasound transducer array

An apparatus () comprises a probe () including a transducer array () with a plurality of elements (), a communications interface (), and an interconnect () configured to route electrical signals between the plurality of elements and the communications interface. The interconnect includes a flexible printed circuit with a first surface with a first metal layer (), a second opposing surface with a second metal layer (), a first end (), and a second opposing end (). The apparatus further includes traces () configured to readout signals from at least one of the first and second opposing ends.

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Boalsburg, PA, United States of America

Christopher J Beers