Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.V.

Olympus Scientific Solutions Americas Corp.

Olympus America Inc.

Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.v.

Terry Wray

Jeffrey Scott Hart

David Becker

James Laudermilch

Jeffrey Hart

Disclosed is an NDT/NDI probe array and manufacturing method. The probe array includes a sheet of flexible circuitwith a plurality of lower pinsand corresponding, electrically connected, upper pins. The probe further comprises a backing block, a layer of piezoelectric ceramichaving a plurality of conductive elements, a matching layerand a frame. An adhesive material such as epoxy is applied to the circuit, the backing, the ceramic and the matching layer, and all are aligned and stack pressed at least partially into the frame and permanently bonded in such a fashion that each of the lower pins of the flexible circuit is firmly and permanently in contact with a corresponding one of the conductive elements of the ceramic.

Phased array ultrasonic transducers with solderless stack bonding assembly

An intracavity ultrasound probe includes a pivotally mounted array transducer which is oscillated to scan a volumetric region from within the body. The transducer is oscillated by a motor located in the probe handle. The array transducer is immersed in a liquid which acoustically couples ultrasonic energy between the elements of the transducer and the body. The acoustic coupling liquid is located in the distal tip of the probe shaft, where only 6 cc of liquid is required. The small amount of liquid reduces the weight of the shaft of the probe so that the center of gravity of the probe is in the handle, making the probe comfortable and easy to manipulate. The majority of parts in the probe shaft are made of aluminum or other low density materials, keeping the overall weight of the probe to about 250 grams.

Ultrasonic intracavity probe for 3D imaging

An ultrasound probe includes a transducer () which is mechanically oscillated to sweep beams from the transducer over an image region of a subject. The transducer is located in a first compartment of a fluid-filled chamber which is coupled to a second compartment of the fluid-filled chamber by a bubble trap tube. A drive shaft () which is coupled to oscillate the transducer enters and passes through the secondary chamber before terminating at the transducer oscillation mechanism in the main chamber. This locates the dynamic seal of the drive shaft which is connected between the fluid-filled chamber and the outside air so that any air leakage of the seal will leak into the secondary compartment and not into the compartment where the transducer is located.

Ultrasound probe with multiple fluid chambers

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McClure, PA, United States of America

Terry Wray