Thermal shunt for transferring heat from a portable medical device to a stand

A portable ultrasound device configured to be mounted to a stand, the device comprising:

• a heat-generating source;
• a hot plate proximate and thermally coupled to the heat-generating source;
• and
• a barrier plate biased away from the hot plate and moveable from a first undocked position to a second docked position, wherein
• in the first position, the barrier plate is spaced apart from the hot plate, and
• in the second position, a first planar outer surface forming one side of the barrier plate is in contact with a first planar outer surface forming one side of the hot plate and the barrier plate is in contact with a cold plate of the stand.

A system configured to receive an ultrasound portable device having heat-generating electronics, a hot plate thermally coupled to the heat-generating source, and a barrier plate, the stand comprising:

• a base portion;
• a support structure attached to the base portion;
• and
• a stand head attached to the support structure, wherein the stand head includes a cold plate and a cold pipe thermally coupled to the cold plate, wherein the cold pipe is configured to transfer heat away from the cold plate, and wherein the stand head is configured to receive the portable device in at least one of an undocked position or a docked position such that
• in the undocked position, the cold plate is separated from a barrier plate of the device, and
• in the docked position, a planar outer surface of the cold plate is in contact with a planar outer surface of the barrier plate of the device and the barrier plate is in contact with the hot plate of the device.

A portable ultrasound imaging system, comprising:

• one or more heat-generating electronics for receiving one or more signals related to ultrasound;
• a hot plate for spreading heat collected from the one or more heat-generating electronics;
• and
• a barrier plate for spreading heat collected by the hot plate, wherein
• in a first position, the barrier plate is spaced apart from the hot plate, and
• in a second position, a planar outer surface forming one side of the barrier plate is in thermal contact with a planar outer surface forming one side of the hot plate and the barrier plate is in contact with a cold plate of a stand.

An ultrasound imaging system, comprising:

• a housing;
• electronics in the housing that process ultrasound signals to produce ultrasound images;
• a heat dissipating surface in the housing that dissipates heat from the electronics;
• and
• a thermally conductive barrier plate adjacent the heat dissipating surface that is movable from (a) a first position where there is an airgap between the barrier plate and the heat dissipating surface and (b) a second position where a planar outer surface of the barrier plate is in thermal contact with a planar outer surface of the heat dissipating surface such that when in the second position, heat is transferred to the barrier plate by conduction and the barrier plate is in contact with a cold plate of a stand.

A stand for a medical device of the type having a thermal spreader and a barrier plate positioned on a housing of the medical device between the thermal spreader and an exterior of the housing, the stand comprising:

• a base;
• a stand head supported by the base and including
• a surface onto which a medical device can be docked;
• and
• a cold plate in the stand head for at least partially absorbing heat generated in the medical device,
• wherein a planar outer portion of the cold plate extends above the surface of the stand head and engages with a planar outer surface of the barrier plate on the medical device configured to complete a conductive thermal path from the cold plate to the barrier plate, to the heat spreader in the medical device.