A capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer having a wide reception band is provided. The capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer includes an element including a first sub-element and a second sub-element each including a cell. The cell includes a vibrating membrane that includes one of two electrodes formed with a spacing therebetween and that is vibratably supported. The capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer further includes a first detection circuit, a second detection circuit, and a combining circuit that combines a signal from the first detection circuit and a signal from the second detection circuit. The first sub-element is electrically connected to the first detection circuit, and the second sub-element is electrically connected to the second detection circuit. The first detection circuit and the second detection circuit have different cut-off frequencies.

Disclosed herein is an ultrasonic probe for acquiring an ultrasound image. The ultrasound probe includes a transducer configured to be movable, a cap configured to transmit an ultrasound signal generated by the transducer to outside, and an impact mitigating member disposed along a circumference of the cap to protect the cap from an external impact.

Intraluminal ultrasound imaging devices, methods, and systems are provided. Some embodiments of the present disclosure sure include intraluminal devices configured to navigate and maneuver tortuous vasculature of a patient. For example, an intravascular imaging device can include a flexible support member at a distal portion of the imaging device. The flexible support member may support a plurality of ultrasound transducers and a plurality of control circuits. The flexible support member includes a flexible joint portion between a transducer portion and a controller portion. Introducing a flexible joint portion between the transducer portion and the controller portion can provide for greater flexibility of the imaging device and enable the device to navigate tortuous regions of a patients anatomy.

Acoustic measurement systems include an enclosure having a high efficiency yet very thin acoustic absorber coating portions thereof, in order to diminish background reflections. The thin acoustic absorber includes a reflective sublayer having a periodic array of indentations on its surface. The periodic array of indentations can be one-dimensional or two dimensional. The thin acoustic absorber further includes a thin absorbing layer overlaid on the reflective sublayer, and typically formed of a viscoelastic foam. The thin acoustic absorber possesses unprecedented absorption efficiency across a broad frequency range and at normal or oblique angles of incidence.

This invention provides an ultrasound system for improving needle visualization, including: an ultrasound transducer, which has a tail and a head. A plurality of transducing elements (or more specifically, piezoelectric elements) are embedded in a surface of the head. The transducing elements are arranged in an array of M multiplying N (M×N), wherein M is a positive even number, N is a positive integer, and N is greater than M.

A Multiple Aperture Ultrasound Imaging (MAUI) probe or transducer is uniquely capable of simultaneous imaging of a region of interest from separate physical apertures of ultrasound arrays. The probe can include separate backing plates configured to secure the ultrasound arrays in predetermined positions and orientations relative to one another. Some embodiments of the probe include flex circuit connected to the ultrasound arrays. In additional embodiments, a flex/PC board comprising flex connectors and an array of terminals is connected to the ultrasound arrays. Algorithms can solve for variations in tissue speed of sound, thus allowing the probe apparatus to be used virtually anywhere in or on the body.

The present disclosure related generally to ultrasound imaging, such as intravascular ultrasound imaging. For example, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide an ultrasound imaging system with improved acoustic impedance matching between an ultrasonic transducer and a vessel of interest. For example, in some implementations, an ultrasound imaging device includes a flexible elongate member and an ultrasound scanner assembly disposed at a distal portion of the flexible elongate member. The ultrasound scanner assembly includes a plurality of ultrasound transducers arranged circumferentially, and an impedance matching structure is coupled to the plurality of ultrasound transducers. In some such embodiments, the impedance matching structure is disposed radially outward from the plurality of ultrasound transducers, and in some embodiments, the impedance matching structure is disposed radially inward from the plurality of ultrasound transducers.

Sparse arrays of transducer elements may be beneficial in providing ultrasound transducer probes with a wide total aperture while containing a manageable number of transducer elements. Sparse arrays made with bulk piezoelectric materials or with arrays of micro-elements can be effectively with ping-based multiple aperture ultrasound imaging techniques to perform real-time volumetric imaging.

A method for measuring an ultrasonic attenuation parameter guided by harmonic elastography including applying, using a vibrator included in a probe in contact with a viscoelastic medium, of a continuous low frequency vibration, the continuous low frequency vibration generating an elastic wave within the viscoelastic medium and generating, during the propagation of the elastic wave, using an ultrasonic transducer in contact with the viscoelastic medium, of a series of ultrasonic acquisitions, the series of ultrasonic acquisitions including groups of ultrasonic acquisitions, the groups of ultrasonic acquisitions being generated with a repetition rate, each group of ultrasonic acquisitions including at least one acquisition; the ultrasonic attenuation parameter being measured from the ultrasonic acquisitions realised during the application of the continuous low frequency vibration.

An ultrasonic transducer probe comprises an array transducer and a microbeamformer ASIC (46a, 46b) containing transmit amplifiers and receive circuitry for operation of the array transducer. For higher power operation, the drive current of the amplifiers is increased, rather than the transmit voltage. The elements of the array present a low impedance to the transmit amplifiers for increased drive current by their construction of thin layers (12) of piezoelectric material which are electrically coupled in parallel to an amplifier while being mechanically coupled in series for ultrasound transmission.