Handheld transthoracic rotatable ultrasound transducer

摘要

A handheld ultrasound transducer (10) rotates an image plane (18) about a reference axis by mechanically rotating a sensor array (50) behind a stationary acoustic window (42). An acoustic coupling (40) layer disposed between the sensor array (50) and acoustic window (42) provides an acoustical impedance match between the sensor array (50) and a patient. In a first embodiment, a handheld transthoracic ultrasound transducer has an acoustic window (42) that is axially symmetric at the surface of contact with a patient and the reference axis (15) is parallel to a longitudinal axis of a housing (70). In a second embodiment a handheld abdominal ultrasound transducer has a reference axis (15) that is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis (72) of the housing (70). <IMAGE>