Ultrasound transducer head with integrated variable-gain amplifier devices
AssigneeSiemens Aktiengesellschaft
InventorRalph Oppelt
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Abstract
An ultrasound transducer head that contains at least one transducer element, which receives ultrasound signals and converts them into electrical receive signals, and an amplifier device, which electrically amplifies the receive signals of the transducer element. The amplifier device contains at least one capacitive component, preferably a controllable capacitive diode. The gain of the amplifier device can be varied as a function of the capacitance of the capacitive component. A virtually loss-free gain is obtained over a large dynamic response range.
Claims16
An ultrasound transducer head, comprising:
- at least one transducer element for receiving ultrasound signals and converting said ultrasound signals into electrical signals;
- and
- an amplifier device for electrically amplifying the electrical signals of the transducer element, the amplifier device including at least one controllable capacitive component for controlling the gain of the amplifier device.
An ultrasound device for providing an image of an object, comprising:
- an ultrasound transducer head comprised of at least one transducer element for receiving ultrasound signals and converting said ultrasound signals into electrical signals and an amplifier device for electrically amplifying the electrical signals of the transducer element, the amplifier device including at least one controllable capacitive component for controlling the gain of the amplifier device;
- and
- a controller for controlling the capacitance of the at least one controllable capacitive component.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.