The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 23, 1996
Filed:
Dec. 19, 1994
Fleming Dias, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Hewlett E Melton, Jr, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Hewlett Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for coupling ultrasonic energy into a clad or unclad waveguide include using phased array techniques to increase the area and intensity of radiation into the waveguide. An array of ultrasound transducers is positioned at the exterior of the waveguide and at dissimilar distances from the end of the waveguide. The transducers are individually fired by applying separate phase-shifted excitation signals. The phase shifting achieves a selected phase-differential relationship with respect to signals applied to adjacent transducers. The selected phase-differential relationship defines an angle of radiation into the waveguide. In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus is a medical device, such as an angioplasty device or ultrasound imaging device.