Back to results
US 9,592,030 B2Granted
Interconnectable ultrasound transducer probes and related methods and apparatus
AssigneeButterfly Network, Inc.
InventorsJonathan M. Rothberg, Keith G. Fife, Nevada J. Sanchez, Tyler S. Ralston, Gregory L. Charvat, Gregory Corteville
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Ultrasound devices and methods are described, including a repeatable ultrasound transducer probe having ultrasonic transducers and corresponding circuitry. The repeatable ultrasound transducer probe may be used individually or coupled with other instances of the repeatable ultrasound transducer probe to create a desired ultrasound device. The ultrasound devices may optionally be connected to various types of external devices to provide additional processing and image rendering functionality.
Claims139
An apparatus, comprising:
- a substrate;
- a plurality of ultrasonic transducers on the substrate;
- control circuitry on the substrate, coupled to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers and configured to control operation of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers;
- a first interface, the first interface being of a first type;
- and
- a second interface, the second interface being of a second type, the first and second interfaces being individually configured to transfer electronic signals between the control circuitry and an external device.
3 more elements
An apparatus, comprising:
- a single substrate ultrasound-on-a-chip imaging device comprising multiple different interface types supporting different data transfer rates.
An apparatus, comprising:
- a substrate including a plurality of ultrasound elements;
- a first interface of a first type on the substrate;
- and
- a second interface of a second type that is different than the first type on the substrate.
1 more element
An apparatus, comprising:
- a substrate;
- a plurality of ultrasonic transducers on the substrate;
- and
- control circuitry on the substrate, coupled to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers and configured to control operation of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers,
- wherein the control circuitry comprises a waveform generator coupled to at least one ultrasonic transducer of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers, the waveform generator being configurable to generate different kinds of waveforms.
2 more elements
An apparatus, comprising:
- a substrate having a width and height, the width being at least twice as large as the height;
- a plurality of ultrasonic transducers on the substrate;
- and
- control circuitry on the substrate, coupled to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers and configured to control operation of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers.
1 more element
An apparatus, comprising:
- a plurality of ultrasound transducer probes tiled and interconnected to form an ultrasound imaging device,
- each ultrasound transducer probe of the plurality of ultrasound transducer probes including a plurality of ultrasonic transducers and control circuitry coupled to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers and configured to control, at least in part, operation of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers,
- wherein the control circuitry includes interface circuitry configured to interface the ultrasound transducer probe to an external device.
An apparatus, comprising:
- at least one substrate having a first dimension and a second dimension that is perpendicular to the first dimension, wherein the first dimension is at least twice as great as the second dimension;
- a plurality of ultrasonic transducers on the substrate, the plurality of ultrasonic transducers being arranged along the first dimension and the second dimension of the substrate;
- and
- control circuitry coupled to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers and configured to control operation of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers.
1 more element
A device comprising:
- a plurality of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) ultrasound transducer elements;
- and
- CMOS control circuitry coupled to the plurality of CMOS ultrasound transducer elements and configured to control the CMOS ultrasound transducer elements to support one-dimensional (1D), two-dimensional (2D), and three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound imaging.
A complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit (IC) comprising:
- an array of ultrasound transducer elements;
- and
- CMOS control circuitry coupled to the array of ultrasound transducer elements and configured to control operation of the array of ultrasound transducer elements to support both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound imaging.
An apparatus, comprising,
- a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) substrate;
- a plurality of ultrasonic transducers on the CMOS substrate;
- and
- a CMOS integrated circuit (IC) on the CMOS substrate and coupled to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers, wherein the CMOS IC is configured to support a voltage signal that is greater than approximately 20 V.
1 more element
An apparatus, comprising:
- a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) substrate having a top metal layer configured to conduct a power signal;
- and
- an ultrasonic transducer disposed above the top metal layer and including an electrode, wherein the electrode is connected to the top metal layer by an electrically conductive via.
An apparatus, comprising:
- a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) substrate having a top metal layer having a thickness between approximately 0.5 microns and approximately 10 microns;
- and
- an ultrasonic transducer disposed above the top metal layer.
An apparatus, comprising:
- a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) substrate having a metal layer having a thickness between approximately 0.5 microns and approximately 10 microns;
- an ultrasonic transducer having an electrode;
- and
- a via connecting the electrode to the metal layer of the CMOS substrate.
1 more element
An apparatus, comprising:
- a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) substrate comprising a metallization layer and a wiring line;
- and
- an ultrasonic transducer on the CMOS substrate,
- wherein the metallization layer is configured to distribute a power signal and is configured as an electrical shield between the ultrasonic transducer and the wiring line.
1 more element
An apparatus, comprising:
- a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) substrate;
- and
- an ultrasonic transducer on the CMOS substrate, the ultrasonic transducer comprising a membrane sealing a cavity in the CMOS substrate and further comprising a thin film electrode, wherein the cavity is between the thin film electrode and the membrane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.