Systems and methods for operation of multiaxial ultrasound transducers

An ultrasound imaging system comprising:

• an array of ultrasound elements, each ultrasound element comprising:
• a ferroelectric material;
• propagation electrodes disposed on a first pair of opposing surfaces of the ferroelectric material;
• and
• lateral electrodes disposed on a second pair of opposing surfaces of the ferroelectric material,
• wherein each pair of propagation electrodes defines a propagation direction;
• and
• control and processing circuitry operably connected to the array of ultrasound elements, the control and processing circuitry comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions stored in said memory for performing the steps of:
• applying a respective pair of biphasic driving signals to each ultrasound element of a first set of ultrasound elements to emit ultrasound energy therefrom, such that the biphasic driving signals respectively applied to each ultrasound element of the first set of ultrasound elements comprise:
• a first drive signal that is applied to the propagation electrodes;
• and
• a second drive signal that is applied to the lateral electrodes, wherein the first drive signal and the second drive signal are applied with a phase difference therebetween to generate a rotating electric field within the ferroelectric material;
• receiving, respectively, from each ultrasound element of a second set of ultrasound elements, a first receive signal from the propagation electrodes and a second receive signal from the lateral electrodes;
• combining the first receive signals with the second receive signals to generate, for each ultrasound element of the second set of ultrasound elements, a respective composite receive signal;
• and
• processing composite receive signals to generate at least a portion of an ultrasound image.

An ultrasound imaging system comprising:

• an ultrasound transducer comprising:
• a ferroelectric material;
• propagation electrodes disposed on a first pair of opposing surfaces of the ferroelectric material;
• lateral electrodes disposed on a second pair of opposing surfaces of the ferroelectric material;
• wherein the propagation electrodes define a propagation direction;
• and
• control and processing circuitry operably connected to the ultrasound transducer, the control and processing circuitry comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions stored in said memory for performing the steps of:
• applying biphasic driving signals to the ultrasound transducer to emit ultrasound energy therefrom, the biphasic driving signals comprising a first drive signal that is applied to the propagation electrodes, and a second drive signal that is applied to the lateral electrodes, wherein the first drive signal and the second drive signal are applied with a phase difference therebetween to generate a rotating electric field within the ferroelectric material;
• wherein the first drive signal and the second drive signal are applied with a time delay therebetween;
• wherein the time delay is less than a time duration of the first drive signal, and less than a time duration of the second drive signal.