A method of automatically inspecting a weld bead deposited in a plurality of passes in a chamfer formed between two parts by performing the following steps: positioning at least one emission electromagnetic acoustic sensor on one side of the chamfer and at least one reception electromagnetic acoustic sensor an opposite side of the chamfer, the ultrasound wave emission sensor being configured to emit Rayleigh surface waves; while depositing a pass, automatically moving the sensors to follow the movement of welding electrodes along the chamfer; activating the sensors while they are moving to enable the emission sensor to generate and emit Rayleigh waves towards the pass of the weld bead that is being deposited, the reception sensor receiving the ultrasound signals transmitted and/or reflected in said pass; and reiterating the operation for the entire pass of the weld bead.

A system for detecting and locating submerged underwater objects having neutral buoyancy comprising mechanically steered sonar to image the water column comprises mechanically steered sonar with a single emission channel, to perform the insonification of a first individual sector in a first pointing direction by a single first acoustic pulse, the sonar forming a single reception channel suitable for acquiring a first acoustic signal resulting from insonification, the mechanically steered sonar being mounted on a carrier to advance in a main direction, the first pointing direction substantially lateral to the carrier and the first individual sector exhibits a wide relative bearing aperture and a narrow elevation aperture, the mechanically steered sonar comprising a mechanical pointing device to tilt the first pointing direction about an axis of rotation substantially parallel to the main direction allowing the sonar to acquire first acoustic signals resulting from insonifications performed in different pointing directions.

An ultrasound imaging and therapy device includes an array of concentric annular ultrasound transducers, and an ultrasound imaging device situated inside an innermost transducer of the plurality of concentric annular ultrasound transducers, wherein it further comprises a mechanical linkage allowing a tilting movement of the array of concentric annular ultrasound transducers with respect to the ultrasound imaging device and in that the ultrasound imaging device protrudes in an axial direction from the array of concentric annular ultrasound transducers; whereby the ultrasound imaging device can be kept stationary and in direct or indirect contact with a patient's skin while the array of concentric annular ultrasound transducers is tilted so as to move a focal point of ultrasound waves generated by the concentric annular ultrasound transducers within an imaging region of the ultrasound imaging device.

An ultrasound probe may include a mechanical transducer and a probe housing. The mechanical transducer may be rotatable about an axis. The mechanical transducer may be operable to acquire ultrasound image data at one or more rotational positions of a plurality of rotational positions. The probe housing may include a probe cap covering the mechanical transducer. The mechanical transducer may be directed toward the probe cap at each of the plurality of rotational positions. The probe cap may include a defined structure having a first thickness and a remainder portion having a second thickness different than the first thickness. In various embodiments, at least a portion of the defined structure is at a center section of the probe cap corresponding with a center rotational position of the mechanical transducer.

A sensor device includes: a probe body having a first end and a second end, the probe body defining a probe cavity within the probe body; a sensor located at the first end of the probe body, the sensor having a sensor surface in sensory communication with the probe cavity defined within the probe body; a permanent magnet located adjacent the second end of the probe body and at least partially circumscribing the probe cavity defined within the probe body; an isolating boundary portion located between the permanent magnet and a surface of the object of interest and having a passage formed therethrough, the passage in communication with the probe cavity defined within the probe body.

An ultrasonic probe includes: a piezoelectric element that transmits and receives an ultrasonic wave; a housing that accommodates the piezoelectric element; and an acoustic medium liquid that contains an aryl group-containing siloxane compound, has an attenuation factor of ultrasonic waves of 5 MHz of less than 1.5 dB/cm, and fills a space between the piezoelectric element and the housing.

A sonar device includes a support having negative buoyancy and a linear acoustic reception antenna comprising an elongated body that is elongated from a first end to a second end, the elongated body being connected by the first end at a connection point that is fixed relative to the support, the sonar device being able to be in a reception configuration, wherein the antenna body and the support are fully submerged and wherein the antenna body is able to be in a vertical orientation, wherein it extends substantially vertically from the first end to the second end toward the seabed, the sonar device comprising orientation adjustment means for adjusting, when the sonar device is in the reception configuration and the support is fixed relative to the terrestrial reference frame, an angle of elevation and an azimuth of the second end in the reference frame connected to the support centered on the connection point.

A three-dimensional (3D) mechanical probe for ultrasonic imagining is disclosed.

The present disclosure is directed to an ultrasound imaging system for generating 3D images. The system includes an ultrasound probe having a transducer housing and a transducer transmitter. The housing has a body extending from a proximal end to a distal end along a longitudinal axis. The distal end includes an internal cavity that extends, at least, from a first side to a second side along a lateral axis of the housing. The transmitter is mounted to the first and second sides within the cavity and is configured to rotate about the lateral axis for scanning of an ultrasound beam. Thus, during operation, the transmitter is free to rotate in a clockwise direction and/or a counter-clockwise direction about the lateral axis so as to continuously scan two-dimensional (2D) images. The system may also include a controller configured to receive and organize the 2D images in real-time and generate a 3D image based on the 2D images.

The present invention relates to a device for holding an interchangeable ultrasound probe for medical application. The device comprises a base comprising a fixation means arranged for fixating the device at a surface contact area of the device to a position on a patient's skin; and a base module arranged for being connected to the base and arranged for holding the ultrasound probe. The base module further comprises adjusting means arranged for adjusting the position of the ultrasound probe. The adjusting means comprises a locking mechanism arranged for fixating the adjusted position of the ultrasound probe. The base module comprises a receiver arranged for receiving and retaining the ultrasound probe, which receiver is customizable to the ultrasound probe. The invention further relates to a method.