Active thermal control of ultrasound transducers

A transducer assembly, comprising:

• a housing;
• a transducer mounted within the housing, the transducer operable to transmit ultrasonic energy along a path;
• a heat exchanger thermally coupled to the transducer, said coupling consisting of a passive thermally conductive assembly;
• and
• a flowing coolant fluid thermally coupled to the heat exchanger wherein the heat exchanger and the flowing coolant fluid are positioned outside of the path of the ultrasonic energy.

A transducer system, adapted for use with a control console having a console connector, comprising:

• a housing;
• a transducer mounted within the housing;
• a heat exchanger thermally coupled to the transducer;
• a circulating coolant fluid thermally coupled to the heat exchanger;
• a cable coupled to the housing;
• a cable connector coupled to the cable, the cable connector including an electrical connector and being adapted to couple with a console connector;
• and
• a second heat exchanger, coupled to the circulating coolant.

A transducer assembly, adapted for use with an ultrasound control console to produce ultrasound images, comprising:

• a housing;
• a transducer mounted in the housing;
• a transducer cable having a first portion coupled to the transducer and the housing and a second portion coupled to the console via a mating pair of connectors;
• a thermal conductor coupled to the transducer and extending toward the transducer cable;
• and
• a heat pipe having a first portion thermally coupled to the thermal conductor and a second portion extending into the transducer cable thereby passing heat into the cable from the transducer during imaging.

A transducer assembly, adapted for use with a control assembly, comprising:

• a housing;
• a transducer mounted in the housing;
• a connector conduit having a first portion coupled to the transducer and the housing and a second portion coupled to the control assembly;
• and
• a phase change material mounted in the housing in a pressure controlled container positioned in thermal communication with the transducer.

A transducer assembly, adapted for use with a control assembly, comprising:

• a housing;
• a transducer mounted in the housing;
• a connector conduit having a first portion coupled to the transducer and the housing and a second portion coupled to the control assembly;
• and
• a thermoelectric cooler mounted in the housing in thermal contact with the transducer.

A transducer assembly, adapted for use with a control assembly, comprising:

• a housing;
• a transducer mounted in the housing wherein the transducer is operable to transmit ultrasonic energy along a path;
• a connector having a first portion coupled to the transducer and the housing and a second portion coupled to the control assembly;
• a passive thermal conductor mounted in the housing;
• and
• a liquid heat-transport fluid provided in a deformable bag contained within the housing and in thermal contact with the passive thermal conductor, wherein the deformable bag is positioned outside of the path.

A medical device, comprising:

• a housing;
• a transducer array, comprising a plurality of elements arranged in a plane;
• and
• a diamond-like carbon based material provided adjacent to the elements in thermal contact therewith.

A surgical method, comprising:

• (a) providing a medical probe comprising a means for sensing array temperature, a transducer array having a field of view, and means for controlling the array temperature based on the output of said sensing means, wherein the controlling means is located outside of the field of view;
• (b) acoustically imaging human tissue within the field of view by initiating a sonic pulse and detecting the reflection of said pulse;
• (c) identifying, by evaluating said image, an affected area of human tissue;
• and
• (d) heating the affected area of tissue by energizing the transducer array said controlling means maintaining the array below a predetermined temperature.

A method of cleaning an ultrasound probe having an ultrasound transducer mounted within a probe housing, comprising the steps of:

• providing an active cooling device that is located within the probe housing, the device being thermally coupled to the ultrasound transducer;
• applying an external source of heat to the probe housing;
• and
• actively cooling the ultrasound transducer during the application of the external source of heat by removing heat from the ultrasound transducer with the cooling device.

An ultrasound transducer assembly for use with a remote system console, comprising:

• a transducer housing;
• an ultrasound transducer mounted within the housing, the transducer operable to transmit a signal along a path;
• and
• an evaporator thermally coupled to the transducer for active heat transfer from the transducer;
• a condenser;
• and
• a conduit coupling the evaporator to the condenser.

A method of controlling a temperature of an ultrasound probe having a transducer, comprising the steps of:

• providing a device that is thermally coupled to the transducer;
• providing a thermal controller that is coupled to the device;
• monitoring a temperature of the probe with the thermal controller;
• and
• actuating the device when the temperature reaches a predetermined level.

An ultrasound transducer assembly, comprising:

• a transducer housing;
• an ultrasound transducer mounted within the housing, the transducer being operable to transmit a signal along a path;
• and
• an active cooling device thermally coupled to the ultrasound transducer and positioned in proximity to said transducer within the transducer housing outside of the signal path, wherein the cooling device comprises a single pass, open loop system said cooling device including a flowing coolant.