Ultrasonic transducer probe

• US 4,149,419 A
• Filed: 11/25/1977
• Issued: 04/17/1979
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Elscint Limited (Elbit Imaging Limited), Elscint Imaging Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Smith Kline Instruments Incorporated
• Inventors: Santacroce, John M., Connell, Raymond S. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gill, James J.
• Application Number:
  US05/854,902
• Time in Patent Office: 508 Days
• Field of Search: 73/639, 73/641, 73/626, 73/621, 73/633, 73/634, 73/625, 73/644, 128/2 V, 128/205 Z
• US Class Current: 73/621
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/00 Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves imaging of objects using sonar G01S15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4461 Features of the scanning mechanism, e.g. for moving the transducer within the housing of the probe
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/26 Arrangements for orientation or scanning by relative movement of the head and the sensor mechanical steering of sound transducers or their beams G10K11/35
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/355 Arcuate movement

Abstract

An ultrasonic transducer probe having a sealed rotor housing, a plurality of transducers mounted on a rotor disposed in said housing. A rotor shaft mounts the rotor and extends through the housing. A drive assembly including commutating and position indicating means receives said housing and rotor shaft and serves to drive the rotor, commutate electrical energy to and from said transducers and indicate the angular position of said rotor. A handle including means for driving said drive assembly is attached to said drive assembly to position the rotor housing and drive assembly against the body the rotate said rotor to cause the transducers to scan a sector of the body.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic transducer probe for examining a living body comprising a rotor shaft, a rotor mounted on said shaft, a plurality of ultrasonic transducers having a transmitting and receiving face mounted on said rotor with the face directed radially outwardly therefrom, a sealed housing adapted to house said rotor and support said shaft for rotation, said housing including a thin wall adjacent the transducer face for transmitting ultrasonic energy to and from said transducers, a coupling fluid filling said housing, said fluid having an acoustic impedance corresponding generally to that of the body to be examined whereby to efficiently couple the transducer to the body, means serving to rotate said shaft and rotor so that the transducers scan through a predetermined angle, a plurality of saturable reactors one for each transducer connected in series therewith, means for mounting said saturable reactors for rotation with said shaft, and means providing a magnetic field to each of said saturable reactors as they rotate through a predetermined angle whereby the saturable reactor in the magnetic fields is saturated to lower its impedance so that it transmits electrical signals, and means connected to said saturable reactors serving to supply and receive electrical signals from the transducers associated with the saturated saturable reactor.

2. An ultrasonic transducer probe as in claim 1 including position indicating means associated with said shaft, said position indicating means associated with said shaft, said position indicating means comprising a transparent disc mounted for rotation on said shaft, a plurality of concentric opaque circles formed on said disc, said circles varying in width from a wide portion to a thin portion, a light source disposed on one side of said disc and a phototransducer disposed on the other side of said disc to receive light transmitted through the disc from the light source whereby to generate electrical signals corresponding to the light transmitted as the wide and narrow portions intercept the light.

3. An ultrasonic transducer probe for examining a living body comprising a rotor shaft, a rotor mounted on said shaft, a plurality of ultrasonic transducers having a transmitting and receiving face mounted on said rotor with the face directed radially outwardly therefrom, a sealed housing adapted to house said rotor and support said shaft for rotation, said housing including a thin wall adjacent the transducer face for transmitting ultrasonic energy to and from said transducers, a coupling fluid filling said housing, said fluid having an acoustic impedance corresponding generally to that of the body to be examined whereby to efficiently couple the transducer to the body, means serving to rotate said shaft and rotor so that the transducers scan through a predetermined angle, and position indicating means associated with said shaft, said position indicating means comprising a transparent disc mounted for rotation on said shaft, a plurality of concentric opaque circles formed on said disc, said circles varying in width from a wide portion to a narrow portion, a light source disposed on one side of said disc and a phototransducer disposed on the other side of said disc to receive light transmitted through the disc from the light source whereby to generate electrical signals corresponding to the light transmitted as the wide and narrow portions intercept the light.

4. An ultrasonic transducer probe for examining a living body comprising a rotor shaft, a rotor mounted on said shaft, a plurality of ultrasonic transducers having a transmitting and receiving face mounted on said rotor with the face directed radially outwardly therefrom, a sealed housing adapted to house said rotor and support said shaft for rotation, said housing including a thin wall adjacent the transducer face for transmitting ultrasonic energy to and from said transducers, said thin wall being at an angle with respect to the face of the transducers to minimize the effect of reflection of energy from the interface between the fluid and the window, a coupling fluid filling said housing, said fluid having an acoustic impedance corresponding generally to that of the body to be examined whereby to efficiently couple the transducer to the body, and means serving to rotate said shaft and rotor so that the transducers scan through a predetermined angle.

5. An ultrasonic transducer probe for examining a living body comprising a rotor shaft, a rotor mounted on said shaft, a plurality of ultrasonic transducers having a transmitting and receiving face mounted on said rotor with the face directed radially outwardly therefrom, a sealed housing adapted to house said rotor and support said shaft for rotation about an axis of rotation, said housing including a thin wall adjacent the transducer face for transmitting ultrasonic energy to and from said transducers, said thin wall lying on a conical surface with the center of the inner and outer surfaces of the wall on a common line coincident with the axis of rotation of the transducers whereby to minimize paralax, a coupling fluid filling said housing, said fluid having an acoustic impedance corresponding generally to that of the body to be examined whereby to efficiently couple the transducer to the body, and means serving to rotate said shaft and rotor so that the transducers scan through a predetermined angle.

6. An ultrasonic transducer probe comprising:

a scanning head including a rotor shaft, a rotor mounted on said shaft, a plurality of ultrasonic transducers mounted on said rotor, a sealed housing adapted to house said rotor with one end of the shaft extending therefrom;

a drive assembly including a housing for driving said shaft to rotate said rotor, said drive housing and said sealed housing including means for removably connecting said scanning head to said drive housing whereby scanning heads having desired characteristics can be interchanged with the drive;

a handle associated with said drive housing to permit placement of said scanning head on a body to be examined;

saturable reactors mounted to rotate with said shaft, said ultrasonic transducers having first and second terminals, a saturable reactor having one terminal connected to one terminal of each of said transducers and mounted on said support with their other terminal connected in common;

means providing a magnetic field to saturate a reactor passing therethrough positioned in said housing to cooperate with each saturable reactor as it rotates therethrough; and

means for applying and receiving signals between the common terminal of the saturable reactors and the other terminal of the transducers whereby the transducer associated with a saturated saturable reactor is connected to said means for applying and receiving signals.

7. An ultrasonic transducer probe as in claim 6 including a rotary transformer for coupling the common terminal of the saturable reactors and the other terminal of the transducers to means for applying signals to and receiving signals from the transducers.

8. An ultrasonic transducer probe as in claim 6 including position indicating means associated with said shaft, said position indicating means comprising a transparent disc mounted for rotation on said shaft, a plurality of concentric opaque circles formed on said disc, said circles varying in width from a wide portion to a narrow portion, a light source disposed on one side of said disc and a phototransducer disposed on the other side of said disc to receive light transmitted through the disc from the light source whereby to generate electrical signals corresponding to the light transmitted as the wide and narrow portions intercept the light.