Expandable catheter assembly with flexible printed circuit board (PCB) electrical pathways

A device configured to be inserted into a body lumen, comprising:

• an elongate shaft comprising a proximal end and a distal end;
• an expandable assembly disposed at the distal end of the shaft and configured to transition from a radially compact state to a radially expanded state;
• a flexible printed circuit board (flex-PCB) substrate forming at least a portion of the expandable assembly;
• a plurality of electronic elements coupled to the flex-PCB substrate and configured to at least one of receive or transmit electrical signals;
• and
• a plurality of communication paths positioned at least one of on or within the flex-PCB substrate and selectively coupling the plurality of electronic elements to a plurality of electrical contacts configured to electrically connect to an electronic module configured to process the electrical signals, wherein:
• the plurality of electronic elements comprises a plurality of ultrasound transducers,
• the expandable assembly comprises at least two splines, including a first spline and a second spline, with at least two ultrasound transducers of the plurality of ultrasound transducers mounted to each spline, and
• the at least two ultrasound transducers mounted to the first spline are linearly staggered from at least two ultrasound transducers mounted to the second spline, such that a protrusion one of the ultrasound transducers on the first spline extends between protrusions of the at least two ultrasound transducers on the second spline.