Ultrasonic imaging and energy delivery device and method
AssigneeAcoustiic Inc.
InventorSean Taffler
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An ultrasonic device includes a driving circuit to provide drive power, a first transducer array to generate ultrasonic waves, the first transducer array being connected to receive power from the driving circuit, and a second transducer array to detect reflected or elicited ultrasonic waves incident on the device from a target and generate a signal based on those waves, the second transducer array being acoustically transmissive and disposed over the first transducer array such that the generated ultrasonic waves pass through the second transducer array. The second array is tuned to operate on top of the first. The functions of the two arrays may be reversed and the array tuned to operate with the first array receiving and the second array transmitting.
Claims27
An ultrasonic device comprising:
- a driving circuit to provide drive power;
- a first transducer array to generate ultrasonic waves toward a target, the first transducer array being connected to receive power from the driving circuit;
- a second transducer array to detect reflected or elicited ultrasonic waves traveling toward the ultrasonic device from the target, and to generate a signal based on the detected ultrasonic waves, the second transducer array being acoustically transmissive and disposed over the first transducer array such that the generated ultrasonic waves pass through the second transducer array;
- and
- a thermally conductive layer disposed between, and in contact with at least one of, the first and second transducer arrays through which heat, generated by the first and second transducer arrays, is transmitted from inner regions of the arrays to edge regions of the arrays.
A method of conducting ultrasonic therapy or ultrasonic imaging using an ultrasonic device, comprising:
- disposing an acoustically transmissive second transducer array over a first transducer array such that ultrasonic waves generated by the first transducer array substantially pass through the second transducer array;
- disposing a thermally conductive layer between, and in contact with at least one of, the first and second transducer arrays;
- providing power to the first transducer array, the power causing the first transducer array to generate ultrasonic waves toward a target;
- detecting, with the second transducer array, reflected or elicited ultrasonic waves from the target;
- generating a signal, with the second transducer array, based on the detection;
- creating a digital image of the target region based on the signal or determining a material property of the target based on signal;
- and
- transmitting heat, generated by the first and second transducer arrays, from inner regions of the arrays to edge regions of the arrays through the thermally conductive layer between, and in contact with at least one of, the first and second transducer arrays.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.