INTERCONNECTABLE ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCER PROBES AND RELATED METHODS AND APPARATUS

摘要

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.

主权项

1. An apparatus, comprising:
a semiconductor substrate having a width and height, the width being at least twice as large as the height, the substrate having a top metal layer having a thickness between approximately 0.5 microns and approximately 10 microns; a plurality of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) ultrasonic transducers integrated with the substrate, wherein at least one CMOS ultrasonic transducer of the plurality of CMOS ultrasonic transducers is disposed above the top metal layer; and CMOS control circuitry on the substrate, coupled to the plurality of CMOS ultrasonic transducers and configured to control the plurality of CMOS ultrasonic transducers to support one-dimensional (1D), two-dimensional (2D), and three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound imaging, wherein the CMOS control circuitry comprises a waveform generator coupled to the at least one CMOS ultrasonic transducer of the plurality of CMOS ultrasonic transducers, the waveform generator being configurable to generate any of an impulse, a continuous wave, a coded excitation, or a chirp waveform.