US4294119A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Ultrasonic applicator for ultrasonic scanning of bodies
Assignee: Siemens AG
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Filing: 1979-05-17
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Granted: 1981-10-13
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Expires: 1999-05-17
Abstract
Abstract In the illustrated embodiment, ultrasonic transmitter/receiver elements are arranged along a curved formation within a housing containing a coupling medium which is a good conductor of ultrasonic energy (for example a water medium) and are successively excited to direct ultrasonic beam energy via the coupling medium to an ultrasonic window of the housing. The transducer elements are mounted at different angular orientations such that their beam paths converge external to the ultrasonic window. The curvature of a carrier for the transducer elements may be controlled to adjust the distance of the point of convergence beyond the window without changing the length of the acoustic path in the coupling medium, or the transducer elements and/or ultrasonic window may be bodily shifted to simultaneously change the length of the acoustic path and the distance of the convergence point beyond the window. Internal body regions accessible through narrow acoustic apertures at varying depths dependent on individual body characteristics may thus be reached for scanning by appropriate adjustment of the depth of the convergence point of the ultrasonic beam paths, the diverging beam paths beyond such depth providing for a sector scanning configuration within the desired body region.
Inventors
- 👤 Richard E. Soldner
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-22 18:50
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B8/00; A61B8/42; A61B8/4272; A61B8/4281; A61B8/44; A61B8/4444; A61B8/4461; A61B8/4483; A61B8/4494; G; G01; G01S; G01S7/00; G01S7/52; G01S7/52017; G01S7/52046; G10; G10K; G10K11/00; G10K11/18; G10K11/26; G10K11/32
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
285 words
An ultrasonic applicator for the ultrasonic scanning of bodies for the purpose of obtaining echo sectional images, said applicator comprising an ultrasonic transmitting-receiving system having a plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements which are adjacently disposed in a row for excitation in chronological succession to displace an ultrasonic beam, an applicator housing for said transducer elements having an interior space containing a coupling medium providing for conduction of ultrasonic energy within said applicator housing and having an ultrasonic window means in alignment with the beam paths of said transducer elements, and providing for the transmission of ultrasonic energy through said coupling medium from the transducer elements to said window means and through said window means to the exterior of said housing, and adjustable mounting means for mounting said transducer elements in a curved configuration such that in all conditions of operation all of the ultrasonic beams produced by the transducer elements pass through said window means and converge at substantially a common focal point and then diverge to provide respective scan lines of a sector scanning field, beyond said common focal point and spaced from said housing, for ultrasonic scanning of a body region external to said housing and beyond such common focal point, said adjustable mounting means providing for a substantial range of adjustment of the distance of the focal point beyond said window means including an adjustment of the focal point to a distance from the window means of not greater than several centimeters while maintaining the ultrasonic beams aligned to pass through the window means in all conditions of adjustment, for operative scanning of a sector field beyond the focal point by means of said transducer elements in all conditions of adjustment thereof.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
285 words
An ultrasonic applicator for the ultrasonic scanning of bodies for the purpose of obtaining echo sectional images, said applicator comprising an ultrasonic transmitting-receiving system having a plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements which are adjacently disposed in a row for excitation in chronological succession to displace an ultrasonic beam, an applicator housing for said transducer elements having an interior space containing a coupling medium providing for conduction of ultrasonic energy within said applicator housing and having an ultrasonic window means in alignment with the beam paths of said transducer elements, and providing for the transmission of ultrasonic energy through said coupling medium from the transducer elements to said window means and through said window means to the exterior of said housing, and adjustable mounting means for mounting said transducer elements in a curved configuration such that in all conditions of operation all of the ultrasonic beams produced by the transducer elements pass through said window means and converge at substantially a common focal point and then diverge to provide respective scan lines of a sector scanning field, beyond said common focal point and spaced from said housing, for ultrasonic scanning of a body region external to said housing and beyond such common focal point, said adjustable mounting means providing for a substantial range of adjustment of the distance of the focal point beyond said window means including an adjustment of the focal point to a distance from the window means of not greater than several centimeters while maintaining the ultrasonic beams aligned to pass through the window means in all conditions of adjustment, for operative scanning of a sector field beyond the focal point by means of said transducer elements in all conditions of adjustment thereof.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
61 words
An ultrasonic applicator according to claim 1 with the adjustable mounting means providing for longitudinal shifting movement of the transducer elements toward and away from said window means for changing the distance beyond said window means at which said beam paths converge over a substantial range to accommodate sector scanning of internal body regions at different distances beneath a body surface.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
39 words
An ultrasonic applicator according to claim 1 with said ultrasonic transducer elements being arranged in said applicator housing in a circular arc formation and being radially inwardly oriented toward a center of curvature located outside of said window means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
An ultrasonic applicator according to claim 3 with said circular arc formation of said transducer elements having a radius of curvature of a value between about one-hundred millimeters and about one-hundred and fifty millimeters.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
56 words
An ultrasonic applicator according to claim 4 with the transducer elements each having a width of about one millimeter and a length of about five to ten millimeters and having a center to center interval therebetween along the circular arc formation of a value in the range from approximately one to approximately one and five-tenths millimeters.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
19 words
An ultrasonic applicator according to claim 5 with said circular arc formation having approximately one-hundred transducer elements spaced therealong.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
151 words
Apparatus for scanning internal body regions accessible through narrow acoustic apertures, which comprises: ultrasonic scanning means for sequentially directing converging ultrasonic beams along beam paths converging toward substantially a common point of convergence at a narrow acoustic aperture within the body such that the beams extend through the acoustic aperture and then diverge along successive scan lines forming a sector scanning configuration within an internal body region beyond the acoustic aperture, and means for predominantly utilizing ultrasonic echo signals produced in the sector scanning configuration beyond the point of convergence so as to predominantly provide an ultrasonic echo sectional view of the internal body region beyond such acoustic aperture, said ultrasonic scanning means comprising a housing having window means for transmitting the converging ultrasonic beams, each beam path within the housing having a length which is large in comparison to the distance of the point of convergence from the window means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
151 words
Apparatus for scanning internal body regions accessible through narrow acoustic apertures, which comprises: ultrasonic scanning means for sequentially directing converging ultrasonic beams along beam paths converging toward substantially a common point of convergence at a narrow acoustic aperture within the body such that the beams extend through the acoustic aperture and then diverge along successive scan lines forming a sector scanning configuration within an internal body region beyond the acoustic aperture, and means for predominantly utilizing ultrasonic echo signals produced in the sector scanning configuration beyond the point of convergence so as to predominantly provide an ultrasonic echo sectional view of the internal body region beyond such acoustic aperture, said ultrasonic scanning means comprising a housing having window means for transmitting the converging ultrasonic beams, each beam path within the housing having a length which is large in comparison to the distance of the point of convergence from the window means.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
53 words
Apparatus according to claim 7, with said ultrasonic scanning means directing all of the ultrasonic beams produced during a complete scanning operation toward said common point of convergence and providing the complete ultrasonic sectional view of the internal body region without any change of the common point of convergence relative to said body.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
185 words
Apparatus for scanning internal body regions accessible through narrow acoustic apertures, which comprises: beam producing means for sequentially directing converging ultrasonic beams from successive directions toward substantially a common point of convergence at a narrow acoustic aperture within the body such that the beams extend through the acoustic aperture and then diverge along successive scan lines forming a sector scanning configuration within an internal body region beyond the acoustic aperture, means for predominantly utilizing ultrasonic echo signals produced in the sector scanning configuration beyond the point of convergence so as to predominantly provide an ultrasonic echo sectional view of the internal body region beyond such acoustic aperture, said beam producing means providing a series of beam source points disposed along an arcuate configuration with a radius of curvature of the order of ten to fifteen centimeters, a housing containing said beam producing means and having window means for transmitting the converging ultrasonic beams to the exterior thereof; and means in said housing for adjusting the point of convergence of the converging ultrasonic beams to a distance of several centimeters in front of said window means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
185 words
Apparatus for scanning internal body regions accessible through narrow acoustic apertures, which comprises: beam producing means for sequentially directing converging ultrasonic beams from successive directions toward substantially a common point of convergence at a narrow acoustic aperture within the body such that the beams extend through the acoustic aperture and then diverge along successive scan lines forming a sector scanning configuration within an internal body region beyond the acoustic aperture, means for predominantly utilizing ultrasonic echo signals produced in the sector scanning configuration beyond the point of convergence so as to predominantly provide an ultrasonic echo sectional view of the internal body region beyond such acoustic aperture, said beam producing means providing a series of beam source points disposed along an arcuate configuration with a radius of curvature of the order of ten to fifteen centimeters, a housing containing said beam producing means and having window means for transmitting the converging ultrasonic beams to the exterior thereof; and means in said housing for adjusting the point of convergence of the converging ultrasonic beams to a distance of several centimeters in front of said window means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
36 words
Apparatus according to claim 9 with the arcuate configuration of the beam producing means having means providing beam source points extending over an arcuate configuration with a length of the order of ten to fifteen centimeters.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
19 words
Apparatus according to claim 9 with the beam producing means providing at least about one hundred beam source points.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
31 words
Apparatus according to claim 11 with the beam producing means providing about one hundred beam source points with a spacing therebetween of the order of one to one and one-half millimeters.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
SU184000A1
Cited
US3990300A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1984-10-12 | 1985-04-13 | 1985-10-13 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1988-10-12 | 1989-04-13 | 1989-10-13 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1992-10-12 | 1993-04-13 | 1993-10-13 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |