System and method for improved transducer thermal design using thermo-electric cooling
First Claim
1. An ultrasound transducer assembly, comprising:
- a housing;
a transducer mounted in said housing, said transducer operable to transmit ultrasonic energy along a path, said transducer comprising a plurality of component layers, each of said component layers separated by a heat conductive layer; and
a thermoelectric cooler mounted in said housing and positioned outside of said path, said thermoelectric cooler being thermally coupled with said heat conductive layer for actively removing heat generated by said transducer by active thermal transport of heat energy directly from said heat conductive layer.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An ultrasound transducer assembly having a housing, a transducer array mounted in the housing, and active cooling mechanism positioned adjacent to the transducer array for actively removing heat generated by the array by transport of heat energy from the affected site. The active cooling mechanism comprises a thermo-electric cooler which utilizes active thermal transport to remove heat from the transducer. The thermoelectric cooler may be used alone or in combination with a phase change material or other system to subsequently remove the heat from the thermo-electric cooler. The thermo-electric cooler is coupled with the flex-circuit layers of the transducer to efficiently remove heat generated within the component layers of the transducer.
-
Citations
38 Claims
-
1. An ultrasound transducer assembly, comprising:
-
a housing;
a transducer mounted in said housing, said transducer operable to transmit ultrasonic energy along a path, said transducer comprising a plurality of component layers, each of said component layers separated by a heat conductive layer; and
a thermoelectric cooler mounted in said housing and positioned outside of said path, said thermoelectric cooler being thermally coupled with said heat conductive layer for actively removing heat generated by said transducer by active thermal transport of heat energy directly from said heat conductive layer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A method of cooling an ultrasound transducer, comprising:
-
providing a transducer mounted in a housing, said transducer operable to transmit ultrasonic energy along a path, said transducer comprising a plurality of component layers, each of said component layers separated by a heat conductive layer;
coupling, thermally, a thermo-electric cooler, mounted in said housing and positioned outside of said path, with said heat conductive layer; and
removing, actively, heat generated by said transducer by active thermal transport of heat energy directly from said heat conductive layer. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
-
-
35. A ultrasound transducer assembly comprising:
-
a transducer means mounted in a housing, said transducer means for transmitting ultrasonic energy along a path, said transducer means comprising a plurality of component layers, each of said component layers separated by a heat conductive layer means; and
a thermo-electric cooling means for removing, actively, heat generated by said transducer by active thermal transport of heat energy directly from said heat conductive layer, said thermo-electric cooling means being mounted in said housing and positioned outside of said path, the thermo-electric cooling means coupled with said heat conductive layer means.
-
-
36. An ultrasound transducer assembly, comprising:
-
a housing;
a transducer mounted in said housing, said transducer operable to transmit ultrasonic energy along a path, said transducer comprising a substrate, said substrate having at least one micro-mechanical ultrasound element thereon; and
a thermo-electric cooler mounted in said housing and positioned outside of said path, said thermo-electric cooler being thermally coupled with said substrate for actively removing heat generated by said transducer by active thermal transport of heat energy directly from said substrate. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38)
-
Specification