An ultrasound imaging device includes: a first transmitter configured to transmit a transmission signal to at least one piezoelectric element; a receiver configured to receive a reception signal from the at least one piezoelectric element; a second transmitter configured to transmit a given signal to the at least one piezoelectric element; a timing controller configured to control a transmitting timing at which the first transmitter transmits the transmission signal and a receiving timing at which the receiver receives the reception signal; and a signal controller configured to cause the second transmitter to transmit the given signal to a first area to which the first transmitter does not transmit the transmission signal at the transmitting timing or cause the second transmitter to transmit the given signal to a second area from which the receiver does not receive the reception signal at the receiving timing.

An ultrasound transducer includes: an acoustic matching layer; plural piezoelectric elements arrayed on the acoustic matching layer; and plural blocks arranged adjacent to at least one of ends of the piezoelectric elements in an elevation direction of the piezoelectric elements, each of the plural blocks including an abrasive.

A transducer device may include an active layer having a proximal surface and a backing layer having a distal side and a proximal side, the distal side being adjacent to the proximal surface. The proximal side may include (1) at least one first reflective surface approximately parallel to the proximal surface and positioned a first distance from the proximal surface, and (2) at least one second reflective surface approximately parallel to the proximal surface and positioned a second distance from the proximal surface, the second distance being different than the first distance.

An intraluminal ultrasound imaging device includes a flexible elongate member configured to be inserted into a body lumen of a patient, the flexible elongate member comprising a proximal portion and a distal portion. The device also includes an ultrasound scanner assembly disposed at the distal portion of the flexible elongate member. The ultrasound scanner assembly includes a flexible substrate; a transducer region positioned on the flexible substrate; and a control region positioned on the flexible substrate, wherein the transducer region and the control region are radially arranged relative to one another. Associated devices, systems, and methods are also described.

A method for fabricating an intravascular imaging assembly is provided. In one embodiment, the method includes forming a stacked structure (415) having a plurality of sacrificial material layers disposed between a plurality of ultrasound material layers in an alternating pattern; dicing the stacked structure (420) to form a plurality of elongated strips, each comprising an array of ultrasound elements defined by the plurality of ultrasound material layers and spacers defined by the plurality of sacrificial material layers; coupling a first elongated strip (430) of the plurality of elongated strips to a flexible circuit substrate; and removing the spacers (435) of the first elongated strip from the flexible circuit substrate.

Intraluminal imaging devices that include multiple conductor segments having conductors (312, 316) of different sizes at particular locations along the length of the intraluminal imaging device are provided. For example, the intraluminal imaging device may include a cable (310) comprising a proximal portion and a distal portion, an electrical connector (314) coupled to the proximal portion of the cable, and a flexible elongate member (320) comprising a proximal portion and a distal portion. A first plurality of conductors extends within the cable and a second plurality of conductors extends within the flexible elongate member. Each conductor of the first plurality of conductors is electrically coupled to a respective conductor of the second plurality of conductors. A conductor of the first plurality of conductors having a first cross section is electrically coupled to a conductor of the second plurality of conductors having a second cross section that is smaller than the first cross section.

A method of forming a piezoelectric device may include depositing a sol-gel film over a substrate and curing the sol-gel film by impinging light onto an exposed surface of the sol-gel film to form a piezoelectric ceramic element. The method may produce a piezoelectric composite material including at least two piezoelectric ceramic pillars over the substrate. The at least two piezoelectric pillars may include at least one layer. The at least one layer having a gradient density, such that a first portion of the at least one layer proximate the substrate has a density lower than a second portion that is located a greater distance from the substrate than the first portion. The piezoelectric composite material may further include a resin separating the at least two piezoelectric ceramic pillars.

Intraluminal ultrasound imaging device, systems and methods (e.g., method of fabricating the device) are provided. In some embodiments, the intraluminal ultrasound imaging device includes a flexible elongate member configured to be positioned within a body lumen of a patient, and an ultrasound scanner assembly disposed at a distal portion of the flexible elongate member and configured to obtain imaging data of the body lumen. The ultrasound scanner assembly includes a flexible substrate, a first under-bump metallization (UBM) layer over the flexible substrate, a first solder feature over the first UBM layer, and a first electronic component electrically connected to the first solder feature.

An acoustic imaging probe having an adjustable effective elevation length. The acoustic 5imaging probe has a transducer element, comprising a plurality of acoustic transducers, that is divided into a plurality of sets of adjacent transducers. A processing module controls how many sets contribute to an acoustic pulse emitted by the acoustic transducer element during an imaging process, to thereby adjust an effective elevation length of the acoustic imaging probe.

An intraluminal imaging device includes a flexible elongate member configured to be inserted into a lumen within a body of a patient, the flexible elongate member comprising a longitudinal axis; an imaging assembly coupled to the flexible elongate member, the imaging assembly comprising: a plurality of ultrasound transducer elements disposed around the longitudinal axis of the flexible elongate member; a plurality of controllers configured to control the plurality of ultrasound transducer elements to obtain imaging data associated with the lumen; and a plurality of electrical wires extending between the plurality of the ultrasound transducer elements and the plurality of controllers and configured to facilitate communication between the plurality of the ultrasound transducer elements and the plurality of controllers.