Patent ID: 8795182
Filing Date: 2014-08-05
Classification: A61B,G01N,G01S

Abstract:
1. A transducer array for medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging, the transducer array comprising: a plurality of elements; a plurality of channel lines connectable with a beamformer; and a plurality of switches arranged to interconnect sub-sets of the elements together into macro elements and to interconnect the macro elements with respective channel lines based on a direction of an acoustic aperture of the elements; wherein at least a first one of the switches comprises at least two pass transistors having gates and sources and a controller arranged to float the gates of the at least two pass transistors when the at least first one of the switches is on, and wherein the at least first one of the switches has a first configuration where the switch is on, a second configuration where the at least first one of the switches is off, and a third configuration where the at least first one of the switches is transitioning to on, the transitioning to on configuration having a different combination of connections with the gates and the sources than the first and second configuration, the different combination of connections including a connection to ground so that the at least first one of the switches does not pass signal during the transitioning to on configuration and including disconnecting from the ground during the on configuration, the transitioning to on configuration including disconnecting an input of the at least first one of the switches from an output of the switch.