ALIGNMENT OF ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCER ARRAYS AND MULTIPLE APERTURE PROBE ASSEMBLY

摘要

The effective aperture of an ultrasound imaging probe can be increased by including more than one transducer array and using the transducer elements of all of the arrays to render an image can greatly improve the lateral resolution of the generated image. In order to render an image, the relative positions of all of the elements must be known precisely. Systems and methods for accurately calibrating and adjusting a multi-aperture ultrasound system are disclosed. The relative positions of the transducer elements can be computed and aligned prior to and during probe assembly.

主权项

1. A method of building a multiple aperture ultrasound probe, the method comprising the steps of:
forming a gasket with a first flowable solidifying material on a lower surface of a precision alignment element; securing the precision alignment element to a back surface of a transducer array with the gasket; evaluating and adjusting alignment of the transducer array relative to the precision alignment element; and injecting a second flowable solidifying material through at least one hole in the precision alignment element to secure the transducer array to the precision alignment element.