Segmented Ultrasound Transducer for Adjustable Aperture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Intraluminal ultrasound probes, such as ICE catheters, face challenges in achieving desired image quality across all imaging planes due to their long, thin transducer design, which results in reduced image quality in certain dimensions and limited volumetric imaging capabilities.
Innovation Solution
The transducer is divided into multiple segments that can slide relative to each other, allowing for the formation of two different apertures: a narrow configuration for insertion and a wider, more square-like configuration for improved volumetric and multi-planar imaging within the body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the transducer is made long and thin to enable vascular access, then the probe can be inserted into narrow lumens, but the image quality in the shorter dimension is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The transducer array is divided into multiple independently controllable sub-arrays that can be selectively activated. This segmentation allows the system to use only the necessary elements for imaging in the insertion dimension, effectively creating a smaller active aperture that maintains image quality while fitting within the constrained geometry of a long, thin probe.
2Area of moving object
If the transducer aperture is enlarged to improve volumetric imaging, then better 3D imaging is achieved, but the probe cannot be inserted through narrow pathways
Solution Approach 1:
The probe employs dynamic reconfiguration of the transducer aperture through electronic control of sub-array activation. The aperture size and shape can be dynamically adjusted between a compact configuration for insertion and an expanded configuration for imaging, allowing the probe to adapt to different operational phases without physical mechanical movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the effective aperture parameters by selectively activating different subsets of the transducer elements. During insertion, only a limited number of elements are activated to maintain a small profile, while during imaging, additional elements are activated to expand the effective aperture for improved volumetric imaging capability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a helically twisted array is used for volumetric imaging, then multi-planar imaging is enabled, but the image quality is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The helical array is segmented into multiple independent sub-arrays that can be selectively activated based on the desired imaging plane and volume. This segmentation allows the system to concentrate the active elements in specific spatial regions, maintaining higher element density and thus better image quality in each imaging plane while still enabling volumetric coverage through sequential or simultaneous activation of different sub-arrays.
Data Source
AI summary
For intraluminal ultrasound probes, the transducer is divided into multiple segments. The segments are connected in a way that allows them to slide relative to each other. This sliding arrangement allows for the transducer to be used in two different apertures at different times while in the patient. One aperture is shaped for insertion of the probe through a limited space, and the other aperture forms an array with a larger elevation extent, allowing greater quality imaging along the elevation dimension.