Ultrasound system transducer adapter

• US 6,500,126 B1
• Filed: 12/20/2001
• Issued: 12/31/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Brock-Fisher, George A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lateef, Marvin M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jain, Ruby
• Application Number:
  US10/024,761
• Time in Patent Office: 376 Days
• Field of Search: 600/437-472, 601/2
• US Class Current: 600/459
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/00 Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves imaging of objects using sonar G01S15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4411 Device being modular
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4438 Means for identifying the diagnostic device, e.g. barcodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4494 characterised by the arrangement of the transducer elements devices for short-range imaging using particular transducer elements arrangements under G01S15/8909; arrangements of transducers in generation of mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic or ultrasonic frequency B06B1/0607
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/899 Combination of imaging systems with ancillary equipment
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52023 Details of receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52034 Data rate converters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52079 Constructional features constructional features of transducers B06B; mounting transducers G10K11/00; constructional features of ultrasonic medical diagnostic devices A61B8/44
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/5208 with integration of processing functions inside probe or scanhead

Abstract

An ultrasound imaging system comprising an ultrasound transducer, an ultrasound imaging device incompatible with the transducer and a transducer adapter including an adapter-transducer connector to connect to a transducer connector of the ultrasound transducer, a system connector to connect to an ultrasound connector of the ultrasound imaging device, and an interface to provide compatible electrical information signals to/from the ultrasound transducer from/to the ultrasound imaging device via the connectors.

Claims

1. An ultrasound transducer adapter, comprising:

an adapter-transducer connector to connect to a transducer connector of an ultrasound transducer storing identification information;

a system connector to connect to an ultrasound imaging device incompatible with the ultrasound transducer; and

an interface to read via the adapter-transducer connector the identification information from the ultrasound transducer, to convert the identification information to a compatible configuration information of the ultrasound imaging device and to transmit the compatible configuration information to the ultrasound imaging device via the system connector.

2. The ultrasound transducer adapter of claim 1, wherein the transmitted compatible configuration information is one of identification codes registered in the ultrasound imaging device, the identification codes identifying ultrasound transducers that the ultrasound imaging device is programmed to operate.

3. The ultrasound transducer adapter of claim 2, wherein the transmitted compatible configuration information is setting information used by the imaging device to operate the ultrasound transducers.

4. The ultrasound transducer adapter of claim 3, wherein the configuration information is based upon a geometry and/or electrical signal specification information of transducer elements of the ultrasound transducer.

5. The ultrasound transducer adapter of claim 1, wherein the ultrasound transducer adapter comprises more than one adapter-transducer connectors.

6. An ultrasound transducer adapter, comprising:

an adapter-transducer connector to connect to a transducer connector of an ultrasound transducer having transducer elements;

a system connector to connect to an ultrasound imaging device having transmitters and receivers, where the transmitter and receivers are incompatible with the transducer elements, the system connector to transmit and receive electrical signals to/from the ultrasound transducer; and

an interface to provide compatible information signals between the ultrasound transducer and the ultrasound imaging device by mapping the transducer elements from the ultrasound transducer to pins of the system connector according to connection configuration of the ultrasound imaging device and by converting electrical signals of the transducer elements to electrical signals compatible with the transmitters and receivers and/or converting electrical signals from the transmitters and receivers to electrical signals compatible with the transducer elements.

7. The ultrasound transducer adapter of claim 6, wherein the interface converts the electrical signals by transforming/matching impedance of the electrical signals from the transducer elements to an impedance of the electrical signals of the transmitters and receivers.

8. The ultrasound transducer adapter of claim 6, wherein the interface converts the electrical signals by matching electrical specifications of the transducer elements to electrical specifications of the transmitters and receivers.

9. The ultrasound transducer adapter of claim 6, wherein the ultrasound transducer adapter comprises more than one adapter-transducer connectors.

10. An ultrasound transducer adapter, comprising:

an adapter-transducer connector to connect to a transducer connector of an ultrasound transducer;

a system connector to connect to an ultrasound imaging device incompatible with the ultrasound transducer; and

an interface in communication with the adapter-transducer and the system connector to provide compatible electrical information signals to/from the ultrasound transducer from/to the ultrasound imaging device via the connectors.

11. An ultrasound imaging system, comprising:

an ultrasound transducer;

an ultrasound imaging device incompatible with the ultrasound transducer; and

a transducer adapter comprising an adapter-transducer connector to connect to a transducer connector of the ultrasound transducer, a system connector to connect to an ultrasound connector of the ultrasound imaging device, and an interface to provide the ultrasound imaging device, via the system connector, information compatible with the ultrasound imaging device.

12. The ultrasound imaging system of claim 11, wherein the provided information is transducer identification information recognized by the ultrasound imaging device.

13. The ultrasound imaging system of claim 11, wherein the provided information is configuration information to configure the ultrasound imaging device.

14. The ultrasound imaging system of claim 11, wherein the provided information is transducer identification information recognized by the ultrasound imaging device and compatible electrical information signals.

15. The ultrasound imaging system of claim 11, wherein the interface provides the ultrasound transducer, via the adapter-transducer connector, information compatible with the ultrasound transducer.

16. An ultrasound imaging system, comprising:

at least one ultrasound transducer having transducer elements;

an ultrasound imaging device incompatible with the ultrasound transducers and comprising at least one adapter-transducer connector to connect to at least one transducer connector of the ultrasound transducers, transmitters and receivers to transmit and receive electrical information signals to/from the ultrasound transducers, and an interface to exchange compatible information between the transmitters and receivers and the ultrasound transducers via the adapter-transducer connectors.

17. The ultrasound imaging system of claim 16, wherein the interface comprises:

a configuring unit to provide configuration information of the ultrasound transducers to the ultrasound imaging device; and

a converter to convert electrical signals of the transducer elements to electrical signals compatible with the transmitters and receivers.

18. The ultrasound imaging system of claim 17, wherein

the ultrasound imaging device further comprises a multiplexer to connect two or more of the ultrasound transducers to the transmitters and receivers;

and

the interface further comprises a mapping unit to map the transducer elements from the ultrasound transducers to the multiplexer according to connection configuration of the ultrasound imaging device.

19. A method to connect an incompatible ultrasound transducer to an ultrasound imaging device, comprising:

connecting a transducer connector of an ultrasound transducer having transducer elements to an adapter-transducer connector;

connecting an ultrasound imaging device having transmitters and receivers, where the transmitter and receivers are incompatible with the transducer elements, to an adapter-system connector to transmit and receive electrical signals to/from the ultrasound transducer;

mapping the transducer elements from the ultrasound transducer to pins of the adapter-system connector according to connection configuration of the ultrasound imaging device;

transmitting configuration information of the ultrasound transducer to the ultrasound imaging device via the adapter-system connector; and

converting electrical signals of the transducer elements to electrical signals compatible with the transmitters and receivers and/or converting electrical signals from the transmitters and receivers to electrical signals compatible with the transducer elements.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the electrical signals are converted by matching electrical specifications of the transducer elements to electrical specifications of the transmitters and receivers.