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:
Feb. 26, 2013
Filed:
Feb. 08, 2007
John W. Sliwa, Los Altos, CA (US);
Peter Goetz, Aptos, CA (US);
Zhenyi MA, San Jose, CA (US);
Jennifer Teng, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Stephen Morse, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Frank Callaghan, Blaine, MN (US);
Timothy E. Ciciarelli, San Jose, CA (US);
John W. Sliwa, Los Altos, CA (US);
Peter Goetz, Aptos, CA (US);
Zhenyi Ma, San Jose, CA (US);
Jennifer Teng, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Stephen Morse, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Frank Callaghan, Blaine, MN (US);
Timothy E. Ciciarelli, San Jose, CA (US);
St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc., St. Paul, MN (US);
Abstract
A high intensity focused ultrasound transducer includes an ultrasonic emitter having a surface that emits ultrasonic energy along a beam path, at least one low attenuation polymeric ultrasonic lens acoustically coupled to the surface in the beam path of the ultrasonic energy, such that the lens can direct the ultrasonic energy in at least one direction, and at least one stress mitigation feature, such as a kerf, a heat sink, or an acoustic matching layer, to mitigate thermal expansion mismatch stresses within the transducer. For manufacturing simplicity, the first surface is typically either flat or monotonically curvilinear. The lens may take a variety of shapes, including Fresnel features, and may focus, collimate, or defocus the ultrasonic energy. Any orientation and positioning of the at least one ultrasonic lens relative to the first ultrasonic emitter is contemplated. Manufacture is further simplified by molding, casting, or thermoforming the lens.