Medical instrument sheath comprising a flexible ultrasound transducer

Abstract

An ultrasound transducer comprises a sheath body constructed from a nonconductive material. The sheath body is configured to be installed over a medical device. A piezoelectric copolymer transducer is held snugly against the medical device by the sheath body when the ultrasound transducer is installed over the medical device. The piezoelectric copolymer transducer transduces incident ultrasound signals into corresponding electric signals. A ground conductor is coupled to a first surface of the piezoelectric copolymer transducer. A signal conductor is coupled to a second surface of the piezoelectric copolymer transducer and conducts the corresponding electric signals to a proximal end of the medical device.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.