An ultrasound device (10) is disclosed comprising a transducer arrangement (110) and an acoustically transmissive window (150) over said arrangement, said window comprising an elastomer layer (153) having conductive particles dispersed in the elastomer, the elastomer layer having a pressure-sensitive conductivity, the ultrasound device further comprising an electrode arrangement (160) coupled to said elastomer layer and adapted to measure said pressure-sensitive conductivity. An ultrasound system and arrangement including such an ultrasound device are also disclosed.

An acoustic matching structure is used to increase the power radiated from a transducing element with a higher impedance into a surrounding acoustic medium with a lower acoustic impedance. The acoustic matching structure consists of a thin, substantially planar cavity bounded by a two end walls and a side wall. The end walls of the cavity are formed by a blocking plate wall and a transducing element wall separated by a short distance (less than one quarter of the wavelength of acoustic waves in the surrounding medium at the operating frequency). The end walls and side wall bound a cavity with diameter approximately equal to half of the wavelength of acoustic waves in the surrounding medium. In operation, a transducing element generates acoustic oscillations in the fluid in the cavity. The transducing element may be an actuator which generates motion of an end wall in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the cavity to excite acoustic oscillations in the fluid in the cavity, and the cavity geometry and resonant amplification increase the amplitude of the resulting pressure oscillation. The cavity side wall or end walls contain at least one aperture positioned away from the center of the cavity to allow pressure waves to propagate into the surrounding acoustic medium.

An ultrasound transducer assembly that includes a piezoelectric layer configured to resonate and generate ultrasound signals around a predetermined ultrasound frequency in which the piezoelectric layer has a width to thickness ratio of at least about 0.6. A conductive matching layer is connected to the top surface of the piezoelectric layer to condition the ultrasound transducer for broad frequency bandwidth operation. A conductive backing layer is connected to the bottom surface of the piezoelectric layer. The ultrasound transducer assembly further includes a rigid body over which the conductive backing layer is positioned, the rigid body assembled for encompassing a central longitudinal axis of a catheter body. A signal and ground electrode may form a metallic layer over the top of or below each of the piezoelectric layers. Electrical waveguides may be connected to corresponding signal and ground electrodes of the transducers.

Provided is a composition for an acoustic wave probe including a polysiloxane mixture containing at least polysiloxane having a vinyl group and a phenyl group, polysiloxane having two or more Si—H groups in a molecular chain, and zinc oxide, a silicone resin for an acoustic wave probe, the acoustic wave probe, an acoustic wave measurement apparatus, an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, an ultrasound probe, a photoacoustic wave measurement apparatus, and an ultrasound endoscope.

Disclosed herein is an ultrasonic probe including a piezoelectric layer, a matching layer disposed at an upper portion of the piezoelectric layer, a conductive member disposed at a lower portion of the piezoelectric layer, a second connector coupled to at least one side of the conductive member, and a printed circuit board coupled to a side of the second connector and electrically coupled to the second connector. A printed circuit board is disposed outside a laminated structure of the acoustic element so that the printed circuit board can be prevented from affecting acoustic characteristics of the ultrasonic probe, a failure in a process of manufacturing the ultrasonic probe that occurs due to a change in temperature or humidity can be prevented, and the manufacturing process can be relatively simplified.

An acoustic lens to steer an acoustic beam includes a first structure, a second structure spaced from the first structure, an array of projections disposed between the first and second structures, each projection of the array of projections extending from the first structure toward the second structure to define a respective gap between the projection and the second structure, and an actuator configured to move the first structure, the second structure, or the array of projections for collective adjustment of the respective gaps of the array of projections. Each projection is configured to define one or more respective unit cells, each unit cell having a sub-wavelength size relative to the acoustic beam to establish an effective refractive index profile for the acoustic beam between the first and second structures. The actuator is configured such that the collective adjustment of the respective gaps varies across the array of projections to spatially modify the effective refractive index profile to steer the acoustic beam.

A method and apparatus are disclosed herein for a thermally conductive layer for transducer face temperature reduction in an ultrasound transducer assembly. In one embodiment, the ultrasound transducer assembly comprises: a transducer layer configured to emit ultrasound energy; one or more matching layers overlaying the transducer layer; a thermally conductive layer overlaying the one or more matching layers; and a lens overlaying the thermally conductive layer.

An ultrasonic transducer includes: a laminate in which a plurality of acoustic members is laminated; and an adhesive layer that includes a silane coupling agent and an adhesive, the adhesive layer joining any two of the plurality of acoustic members to each other, wherein the silane coupling agent has a structure represented by general formula (1):

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wherein R.sub.1s each independently represent a methoxy group or an ethoxy group, R.sub.2 represents a methoxy group, an ethoxy group, or a hydrogen atom, X represents a linear or branched organic chain having 4 or more continuous carbon atoms, and A represents a reactive functional group.

The object of this invention is to provide an ultrasonic transducer for a measuring device capable of widening a frequency band suitable for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves while reducing the manufacturing cost. The ultrasonic transducer for a measuring device includes a substantially disc-shaped base material that serves too as an acoustic-matching layer and substantially disc-shaped piezoelectric element that is joined to the base material. The piezoelectric element is formed with grooves extending in the planar direction so that they do not cross one another, and the plurality of strip-shaped vibration units are arranged through the grooves. The length of the vibration unit becomes shorter as the distance from the center of the piezoelectric element increases. Then, the piezoelectric element vibrates in the thickness direction in the first-frequency band and vibrates in the radial direction in the second-frequency band, which is lower than the first-frequency band.

Acoustic forces in an acoustic field can be increased via introduction of “seeding particles” with higher or similar contrast factor and/or size relative to the particles targeted for retention in the acoustic field. This feature may be implemented in an acoustic concentration device or an acoustic separation device. Increases in acoustic forces lead to better particle retention and can permit increased flow rates through an acoustic particle processing device.