Patent ID: 8241220
Filing Date: 2012-08-14
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. An ultrasonic imaging tube comprising: a tube body having a longitudinal axis and a circumference; a first transducer array for imaging disposed in the body with separate elements of the first transducer array spaced along the longitudinal axis; and a second transducer array for imaging disposed in the body with separate elements of the second transducer array spaced along the longitudinal axis, the first transducer array substantially parallel with the second transducer array due to the spacing of the separate elements of the first and second transducer arrays and a number of the elements of both the first and second transducer arrays spaced along the longitudinal axis of the tube body, wherein the first transducer array and the second transducer array have faces with corresponding imaging planes that are at a first non-zero angle to each other about the longitudinal axis, the non-zero angle being in a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis such that a first emitting face of the first transducer array and a second emitting face of the second transducer array are at different angles in the plane and around the longitudinal axis, the non-zero angle being a difference between the different angles.