Interface element for medical ultrasound transducer
US5505205A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 15, 1994 |
| Grant date | Apr 9, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 15, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG10K11/02
- WIPO fieldOther consumer goods
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
An ultrasound transducer assembly includes an ultrasound transducer for transmitting and receiving ultrasound energy and one or more interface elements for conducting transmitted ultrasound energy from the transducer to a patient's body and for conducting received ultrasound energy from the patient's body to the transducer. At least one ultrasound-transmissive interface element is fabricated of a polymeric material. The material preferably has a sound speed that approximately matches the speed of sound in human tissue. The material comprises at least one primary rigid component material and at least one secondary component material, and has a Shore D durometer hardness value of greater than about 60D, and a sound speed of between about 1,450 meters/second and about 1,700 meters/second. The ultrasound-transmissive element fabricated of a polymeric material can be a protective lens cover, an ultrasound lens or lens element, an ultrasound-transmissive window or a sound pipe.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.