Medical instrument including high frequency ultrasound transducer array

A probe for inspecting areas of a body comprising:

• a probe body having an outer diameter of 8 mm. or less;
• a forward facing high frequency ultrasound transducer within the probe body, that includes:
• a frame having a width dimension with an epoxy material therein that is formed into a number of outwardly extending ribs having a conductive surface thereon;
• an array of transducer elements having a bottom surface and a top surface that are formed in a sheet of piezoelectric material that is connected to the frame, wherein adjacent transducer elements are separated by kerf lines extending entirely though the piezoelectric material and the transducer elements have a pitch of 0.75 lambda or less and wherein each transducer element is connected by a conductive path, each conductive path including a respective outwardly extending rib on the frame and a channel aligned with a respective transducer element and having a recessed depth such that the recessed depth of the channel of each conductive path decreases as the channel extends outwardly from the respective transducer element and becomes the rib of the respective conductive path over a length of the respective conductive path;
• and
• one or more flex circuits having traces that are electrically connected to the outwardly extending ribs to create an electrical connection between the traces and the transducer elements on the transducer, wherein the flex circuits have a width that is equal to or less than the width dimension of the frame of the transducer.

A probe for inspecting areas of a body comprising:

• a probe body;
• an ultrasound transducer within the probe body, that includes:
• a frame;
• an array of transducer elements having a bottom surface and a top surface that are formed in a sheet of piezoelectric material that is connected to the frame;
• a number of conductive paths that connect one surface of the transducer elements to a circuit trace, wherein each conductive path includes a rib separated from a neighboring rib by a space and each conductive path includes a channel aligned with a respective transducer element and having a recessed depth such that the recessed depth of the channel of each conductive path decreases as the channel extends outwardly from the respective transducer element and becomes the rib of the respective conductive path over a length of the respective conductive path, each rib including a conductive surface that is adapted to engage an exposed portion of a conductive trace, wherein each rib extends above a surface of a powder-filled epoxy that is placed in the frame and each channel extends below the surface of the powder-filled epoxy that is placed in the frame;
• and
• one or more flex circuits having traces that are connected to the ribs on the transducer.