Ultrasonic imaging device with programmable anatomy and flow imaging
AssigneeExo Imaging, Inc.
InventorsYusuf Haque, Sandeep Akkaraju, Janusz Bryzek, Brian Bircumshaw
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Abstract
An imaging device includes a transducer that includes an array of piezoelectric elements formed on a substrate. Each piezoelectric element includes at least one membrane suspended from the substrate, at least one bottom electrode disposed on the membrane, at least one piezoelectric layer disposed on the bottom electrode, and at least one top electrode disposed on the at least one piezoelectric layer. Adjacent piezoelectric elements are configured to be isolated acoustically from each other. The device is utilized to measure flow or flow along with imaging anatomy.
Claims18
An imaging device, comprising:
- a transducer comprising a 2D array of piezoelectric elements arranged in rows and columns on a substrate of the transducer, each piezoelectric element having at least two terminals, each piezoelectric element having a first top electrode connected to a respective receive amplifier or a transmit driver under programmed control,
- the 2D array formed by at least a first column and a second column, the piezoelectric elements being configured to (i) transmit and then subsequently receive or (ii) simultaneously transmit and receive,
- wherein connections of the piezoelectric elements in the rows are electronically programmable to enable connection of an arbitrary number of piezoelectric elements in each row,
- wherein adjacent piezoelectric elements in the 2D array are isolated from each other by at least two trenches extending into the substrate in a space between the adjacent piezoelectric elements.
An imaging device comprising an array of piezoelectric elements arranged in rows and columns on a substrate, the piezoelectric elements being configured to perform transmit and receive operations, the substrate comprising an arrangement of trenches that extends between the rows and columns of the piezoelectric elements in the array for isolating the piezoelectric elements from each other, the arrangement of trenches comprising at least two trenches extending alongside each other between adjacent piezoelectric elements for minimizing crosstalk between the piezoelectric elements of the array.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.