US 11,109,831 B2Granted

Ultrasound patch for detecting fluid flow

Assignee1929803 Ontario Corp, (o/a FloSonics Medical)

InventorsJoseph Eibl, Jon-Emile S. Kenny, Christine Demore, Chelsea Munding, Jeremy Brown, Aaron Boyes

Life of this patent

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Abstract

An ultrasound patch includes one or more transmit and receive piezoelectric transducer elements. In some embodiments, the transducer elements are positioned on a ramp on a patient pad of the patch that is configured to fit within an anatomic space between the trachea and the sternocleidomastoid muscle to orient the transducer elements toward a carotid artery. In some embodiments, a flexible phased array transducer includes a number of pillar piezoelectric elements joined by a flexible adhesive with metal electrodes deposited thereon. The phased array transducer is mounted to a flexible circuit board that allows the transducer to bend and conform to a subject's anatomy.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An ultrasound patch configured for use on the skin of a patient to detect fluid flow in a vessel in the patient, comprising:

one or more piezoelectric transmit elements;
one or more piezoelectric receive elements adjacent the one or more piezoelectric transmit elements;
a housing that encloses electronics, the electronics in communication with the one or more piezoelectric transmit and receive elements, the housing including a top surface and bottom surface opposite the top surface, the top surface configured to face away from the skin of the patient and the bottom surface configured to face toward the skin of the patient during use with the patient;
a flexible engagement layer having a first side opposite a second side, the first side of the flexible engagement layer coupled to the housing and positioned to hold the bottom surface of the housing facing toward the skin of the patient, and the second side configured to engage the skin of the patient;
and
a ramp coupled to the flexible engagement layer on the second side,
wherein the ramp extends away from the top surface, the bottom surface and the flexible engagement layer toward the patient, the ramp having at least one wall sloped at an angle relative to the bottom surface, the ramp supporting the one or more piezoelectric transmit and receive elements adjacent to the at least one wall, and the one or more piezoelectric transmit elements positioned to transmit in a direction away from the top surface and the bottom surface and toward the vessel in the patient.

4 more elements

An ultrasound patch configured to detect fluid flow in a vessel, comprising:

a flexible phased array transducer including a number of transmit elements and a number of receive elements,
wherein the transmit elements and the receive elements comprise a number of piezoelectric pillars that are joined with a flexible adhesive,
wherein the transmit elements are connected to a first common electrode and the receive elements are connected to a second common electrode different than the first common electrode, and the first and second common electrodes are deposited on one side of the piezoelectric pillars, and
wherein the first and second common electrodes include connectors located at either end of the flexible phased array transducer and are configured to supply signals to the transmit elements or receive signals from the receive elements;
a flexible circuit board including electrical connections on a first side of the flexible circuit board, the electrical connections interconnecting with the connectors of the flexible phased array transducer, wherein the flexible circuit board includes an opening through which ultrasound signals generated by the transmit elements can pass through from the first side of the flexible circuit board toward a second side of the flexible circuit board;
a patient pad including a patient contacting surface interconnected with the first side of the flexible circuit board, wherein the flexible phased array transducer and the flexible circuit board are configured to align in a direction generally parallel with a plane of the patient contacting surface;
and
transmit electronics configured to produce differently phased driving signals to the transmit elements such that an ultrasound beam is transmitted at an angle with respect to the plane of the patient contacting surface of the patient pad.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/377,028Filed 5 Apr 2019 · us provisional application
Priority: 17 Jul 2018
Published: US 2020/0022670 A123 Jan 2020
Granted: 7 Sep 2021
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

A61B 8/06
Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves: measuring blood flow
A61B 8/4488
Characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer: the transducer being a phased array
A61B 8/0883
Clinical applications: for diagnosis of the heart
A61B 8/4236
By using holders, e.g. positioning frames: characterised by adhesive patches

Family

Application62/699,571Us provisional application · filed 17 Jul 2018
US 2020/0022670 A1Pre-grant publication · published 23 Jan 2020
US 11,109,831 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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