Patent ID: 8070681
Filing Date: 2011-12-06
Classification: A61B,G01S,G10K

Abstract:
1. An ultrasonic probe comprising: a plurality of transducers for mutual conversion between ultrasonic waves and electric signals, a subset of said plurality of transducers configured to be driven in a same period during a scanning process, said subset including a number of transducers less than a total number of transducers of said plurality of transducers; a plurality of transducer side signal lines connected to said plurality of transducers, a number of said plurality of transducer side signal lines equal to a number of said plurality of transducers; a plurality of apparatus body side signal lines connected to an apparatus body, a number of said plurality of apparatus body side signal lines equal to the number of transducers in said subset of said plurality of transducers; a first set of switching units for switching connections between transducer side signal lines of said plurality of transducer side signal lines included in a first group and apparatus body side signal lines of said plurality of apparatus body side signal lines included in a second group, wherein said first group comprises a first part of said plurality of transducer side signal lines and said second group comprises a first part of said plurality of apparatus body side signal lines, a number of said first part of said plurality of apparatus body side signal lines less than a number of said plurality of transducer side signal lines of said first group, each switching unit in the first set of switching units comprising a multiplexer configured to distribute signals from the apparatus body side signal lines in the second group to the transducer side signal lines in the first group and distribute signals from the transducer side signal lines in the first group to the apparatus body side signal lines in the second group; a plurality of connecting units comprising a capacitor, each of the plurality of connecting units provided between one of said plurality of transducer side signal lines included in a third group and a corresponding one of said plurality of apparatus body side signal lines included in a fourth group, wherein said third group comprises a second part of said plurality of transducer side signal lines and said fourth group comprises a second part of said plurality of apparatus body side signal lines equal to a number of the transducer side signal lines in the third group, each said connecting unit not including a multiplexer, wherein each of said plurality of connecting units is not connected to a switching unit; and a second set of switching units for switching connections between transducer side signal lines of said plurality of transducer side signal lines included in a fifth group and apparatus body side signal lines of said plurality of apparatus body side signal lines included in a sixth group, wherein said fifth group comprises a third part of said plurality of transducer side signal lines and said sixth group comprises a third part of said plurality of apparatus body side signal lines, a number of said third part of said plurality of apparatus body side signal lines less than a number of said plurality of transducer side signal lines of said fifth group, each switching unit in the second set of switching units comprising a multiplexer configured to distribute signals from the apparatus body side signal lines in the fifth group to the transducer side signal lines in the sixth group and distribute signals from the transducer side signal lines in the sixth group to the apparatus body side signals in the fifth group; and wherein each multiplexer is defined by a parasitic capacitance; and wherein each capacitor of the plurality of connecting units has electrostatic capacitance elements having electrostatic capacitances equivalent to the parasitic capacitances of each multiplexer.