EP0214782A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Ultrasonic irradiation system
Assignee: Hitachi Ltd
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Filing: 1986-08-15
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2006-08-15
Abstract
Abstract An ultrasonic irradiation system has a transducer (1) which is composed of a plurality of elements divided at least in a circumferential direction of the face of the transducer (1) so that the phases of drive signals may be changed according to the respective circumferential positions of the oscillating elements. This permits the phases of the drive signals to be rotated by n rotations in the circumferential direction. As a result, an annular focal zone having a desired radius is formed, and the integrated values of sound waves in the circumferential direction may be substantially zero on the focal plane so that no unnecessary secondary focal zone is formed.
Inventors
- 👤 Shinichiro Umemura
- 👤 Charles Arain Cain
- 👤 Kageyoshi Katakura
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 18:56
CPC Classifications
G; G10; G10K; G10K11/00; G10K11/18; G10K11/26; G10K11/34; G10K11/341; G10K11/346; A; A61; A61B; A61B17/00; A61B17/22; A61B17/22004; A61B17/22012; A61N; A61N7/00; A61N2007/0052; A61N2007/0056; A61N2007/0065; A61N7/02; A61N2007/027; G01; G01N; G01N2291/00; G01N2291/02; G01N2291/024; G01N2291/02491
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
124 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system comprising: a transducer (1) having a generally circular shape and being divided into a plurality of elements at least in a circumferential direction, the transducer (1) being adapted to generate a plurality of sound pressure regions on a focal plane; a drive circuit (8) for generating drive signals for driving each of the elements, respectively; characterised in that: the system has a control circuit (10,11) for controlling the phases of the drive signals such that the modulus or root mean square value of the integral over the focal plane of the sound pressures of the sound pressure regions is negligible compared with the integral of the modulus or root mean square value of the sound pressures over the focal plane.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
124 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system comprising: a transducer (1) having a generally circular shape and being divided into a plurality of elements at least in a circumferential direction, the transducer (1) being adapted to generate a plurality of sound pressure regions on a focal plane; a drive circuit (8) for generating drive signals for driving each of the elements, respectively; characterised in that: the system has a control circuit (10,11) for controlling the phases of the drive signals such that the modulus or root mean square value of the integral over the focal plane of the sound pressures of the sound pressure regions is negligible compared with the integral of the modulus or root mean square value of the sound pressures over the focal plane.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
51 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit (10,11) is adapted to control the phases of the respective drive signals of the transducer elements such that the phases of the drive signals are rotatable n rotations on the face of said transducer (1) in the circumferential direction.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
38 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system according to claim 2, wherein the control circuit (10,11) is adapted to rotate the distribution of the respective drive phases of the oscillating elements while holding constant the mutual relationships between the drive phases.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
21 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transducer (1) includes geometric focusing means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system according to claim 4, wherein the geometric focusing means is an acoustic lens having a predetermined focal point.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
23 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system according to claim 4, wherein the geometric focusing means is means for making the face of the oscillator concave.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
49 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system according to claim 1, further comprising: an array type monitoring probe at the centre of the face of the transducer (1); and imaging means for imaging by means of sound waves from an object by electronic linear or sector scanning of the array type probe.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
34 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system according to claim 7, wherein the array type probe is driven by a signal having a frequency at least twice that of the drive signals for driving the transducer (1).
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
89 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system comprising: a transducer (1) having a generally circular contour and being divided into a plurality of elements in both circumferential and radial directions; a drive circuit (8) for driving each of the elements respectively; and a control circuit (10,11) for controlling the phases of drive signals for driving the elements, respectively, wherein the control circuit (10,11) is adopted to control the phases of the respective drive signals for driving the transducer elements such that sound waves may be converged in a desired annular focal zone.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
89 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system comprising: a transducer (1) having a generally circular contour and being divided into a plurality of elements in both circumferential and radial directions; a drive circuit (8) for driving each of the elements respectively; and a control circuit (10,11) for controlling the phases of drive signals for driving the elements, respectively, wherein the control circuit (10,11) is adopted to control the phases of the respective drive signals for driving the transducer elements such that sound waves may be converged in a desired annular focal zone.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
89 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system according to claim 9, wherein the control circuit (10,11) is adapted to determine the term of a phase adjustment corresponding to the radial positions of the elements with respect to the distance to, and the radius of, the focal plane of the annular focal zone and is adapted to control the phases of the respective drive signals for driving the elements such that the phases of the drive signals are rotatable through n rotations in the circumferential direction of the face of the transducer (1).
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
87 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system according to claim ' 9, wherein the control circuit-(10,11) is adapted to determine the term of a phase adjustment corresponding to the radial positions of the elements for converging sound waves at the centre position of the focal plane of the annular focal zone and is adapted to control the phases of the respective drive signals of the elements such that the phases of said drive signals are rotatable through n rotations in the circumferential direction of the face of the transducer (1).
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
108 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system comprising: a transducer (1) having a plurality of elements arranged in a two-dimensional array; a drive circuit (8) for driving the elements respectively; and a control circuit (10,11) for controlling the phases of drive signals for driving the elements, respectively, wherein the control circuit (10,11) is adapted to determine the term of a phase adjustment corresponding to the respective radial positions of transducer elements such that sound waves are convergable at the centre position of the focal plane of a desired annular focal zone, and is adapted to reverse sequentially the polarities of the drive signals in a predetermined direction of the two-dimensional array.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
108 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system comprising: a transducer (1) having a plurality of elements arranged in a two-dimensional array; a drive circuit (8) for driving the elements respectively; and a control circuit (10,11) for controlling the phases of drive signals for driving the elements, respectively, wherein the control circuit (10,11) is adapted to determine the term of a phase adjustment corresponding to the respective radial positions of transducer elements such that sound waves are convergable at the centre position of the focal plane of a desired annular focal zone, and is adapted to reverse sequentially the polarities of the drive signals in a predetermined direction of the two-dimensional array.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
80 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system comprising: a transducer (1) having a plurality of elements arranged in an annular array; a drive circuit for driving the elements - respectively; and a control circuit (10,11) for controlling the phases of drive signals for driving said elements, respectively, wherein the control circuit controls the phases of the respective drive signals of the transducer elements such that sound waves are convergable toward an annular focal zone having a desired radius and a desired depthwise position.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
80 words
An ultrasonic irradiation system comprising: a transducer (1) having a plurality of elements arranged in an annular array; a drive circuit for driving the elements - respectively; and a control circuit (10,11) for controlling the phases of drive signals for driving said elements, respectively, wherein the control circuit controls the phases of the respective drive signals of the transducer elements such that sound waves are convergable toward an annular focal zone having a desired radius and a desired depthwise position.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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