Acoustic beam forming in phased arrays including large numbers of transducer elements

A system for focusing acoustic energy towards a target region, comprising:

• a transducer array comprising a plurality of “n” transducer elements;
• a controller for providing drive signals to the transducer array, the controller comprising a plurality of “m” output channels providing sets of drive signals having respective phase shift values, “m” being less than “n,” wherein the controller is configured for assigning the transducer elements to respective output channels based upon at least one of tissue aberrations caused by tissue between the transducer array and the focal zone, geometric tolerances of the transducer array, or impedance variations between the transducer elements;
• and
• a switch coupled to the output channels of the controller and to the transducer elements of the transducer array, the switch configured for connecting output channels to respective transducer elements in order to provide respective sets of drive signals to the respective transducer elements, whereby acoustic energy transmitted by the transducer array may be focused in a desired manner.

A method for delivering acoustic energy from a transducer array comprising a plurality of “n” transducer elements to a target region, the method comprising:

• providing “m” sets of drive signals, each set of drive signals comprising a respective phase shift value selected from “m” phase shift values, “m” being less than “n;”
• analyzing an acoustic path from each of the transducer elements to the target region;
• determining a phase shift value for each of the transducer elements based upon the acoustic path analysis;
• connecting a first set of the drive signals to a first plurality of the transducer elements;
• and
• connecting a second set of the drive signals to a second plurality of the transducer elements, wherein each of the “m” sets of drive signals is connected to a plurality of the “n” transducer elements, each of the transducer elements is connected to one of the sets of drive signals, and connecting each of the transducer elements to one of the sets of drive signals is at least partially based upon the phase shift values of the respective transducer elements and the sets of drive signals, whereby acoustic energy is transmitted by the first and second plurality of transducer elements and focused in a desired manner into the target region.

A method for delivering acoustic energy from a transducer array comprising a plurality of “n” transducer elements to a target region, the method comprising:

• providing “m” sets of drive signals, each set of drive signals comprising a respective phase shift value selected from “m” phase shift values, “m” being less than “n;”
• connecting a first set of the drive signals to a first plurality of the transducer elements;
• and
• connecting a second set of the drive signals to a second plurality of the transducer elements, whereby acoustic energy is transmitted by the first and second plurality of transducer elements and focused in a desired manner into the target region,
• wherein the first and second plurality of transducer elements are connected to first and second sets of drive signals based upon at least one of an analysis of an acoustic path extending from each of the transducer elements to a desired focal zone within the target region, tissue aberrations caused by tissue between the transducer array and the focal zone, geometric tolerances of the transducer array, or impedance variations between the transducer elements.