Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US20090043204A1/en
Timestamp: 2018-11-18 00:30:10
Document Index: 659176942

Matched Legal Cases: ['application No. 60', '§119', 'application No. 60', 'application No. 60', 'application No. 60', 'application No. 60', 'application No. 60', 'application No. 60', 'application No. 60', 'application No. 60', 'application No. 60', 'application No. 60', 'application No. 60']

US20090043204A1 - Hand-held ultrasound imaging device having removable transducer arrays - Google Patents
Hand-held ultrasound imaging device having removable transducer arrays Download PDF
US20090043204A1
US20090043204A1 US12188189 US18818908A US2009043204A1 US 20090043204 A1 US20090043204 A1 US 20090043204A1 US 12188189 US12188189 US 12188189 US 18818908 A US18818908 A US 18818908A US 2009043204 A1 US2009043204 A1 US 2009043204A1
US12188189
US8088070B2 (en )
Laurent Pelissier
Kris Dickie
Kwun-Keat CHAN
G01S7/52082—Constructional features involving a modular construction, e.g. a computer with short range imaging equipment
A hand-held ultrasonic imaging device is provided with a removable transducer array. The imaging device has a housing, a display on the housing, and a transducer assembly including a transducer array detachably coupled to the housing. The imaging device may detect the type of transducer array that is coupled to the housing and select a corresponding functional mode for the transducer array. The transducer array may be coupled at different angles to the housing. The transducer array may be coupled to the housing by a pivotable swivel connector.
This application claims priority from U.S. patent application No. 60/955,325 filed 10 Aug. 2007 and entitled HAND-HELD ULTRASOUND IMAGING DEVICE HAVING REMOVABLE TRANSDUCER ARRAYS. This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119 of U.S. patent application No. 60/955,325 filed 10 Aug. 2007 and entitled HAND-HELD ULTRASOUND IMAGING DEVICE HAVING REMOVABLE TRANSDUCER ARRAYS which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
This invention relates to ultrasound imaging devices. Particular embodiments of the invention relate to hand-held ultrasound imaging devices.
HAND-HELD ULTRASOUND SYSTEM HAVING STERILE ENCLOSURE (application No. 60/955,327);
HAND-HELD ULTRASOUND IMAGING DEVICE HAVING RECONFIGURABLE USER INTERFACE (application No. 60/955,328);
POWER MANAGEMENT IN PORTABLE ULTRASOUND DEVICES (application No. 60/955,329);
WIRELESS NETWORK HAVING PORTABLE ULTRASOUND DEVICES (application No. 60/955,331); and
HANDHELD ULTRASOUND IMAGING SYSTEMS (application No. 60/977,353)
HAND-HELD ULTRASOUND SYSTEM HAVING STERILE ENCLOSURE (claiming priority from application No. 60/955,327);
HAND-HELD ULTRASOUND IMAGING DEVICE HAVING RECONFIGURABLE USER INTERFACE (claiming priority from application No. 60/955,328);
POWER MANAGEMENT IN PORTABLE ULTRASOUND DEVICES (claiming priority from application No. 60/955,329);
WIRELESS NETWORK HAVING PORTABLE ULTRASOUND DEVICES (claiming priority from application No. 60/955,331); and
HANDHELD ULTRASOUND IMAGING SYSTEMS (claiming priority from application No. 60/977,353)
This invention provides hand-held ultrasound imaging devices that have detachable ultrasound transducer arrays. FIG. 1 shows an overview of an example ultrasound device 10 according to one particular embodiment of the invention. Device 10 comprises a housing 12 bearing a display 14. A transducer array 20 is connected to electronic circuitry within housing 12. The electronic circuitry controls the generation and reception of ultrasound signals by way of transducer array 20 and the processing of received signals to produce ultrasound images. The images may be displayed on display 14. Device 10 may be self-contained, providing all of the necessary circuitry to obtain and display ultrasound images on display 14. Device 10 is suitably small enough to be hand carried, and preferably is small enough to keep in a person's pocket. For example, housing 12 may have dimensions of approximately 10 cm×8 cm×2 cm. Device 10 may weigh less than 10 pounds (approximately 4.5 kg).
In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the direction of output of sonic signals from transducer array 20 may be centered more or less at right angles to housing 12 (i.e. α is approximately 90°). In some embodiments, the direction of output of sonic signals from transducer array 20 may be centered at any angle in a range of 70° to 110° with respect to housing 12. With this configuration, housing 12 can be strapped or otherwise held against a subject such that the active face 20A of transducer array 20 is against the skin of the subject. In this configuration, device 10 can be used for monitoring physiological functions of the patient or monitoring the position of a device, such as a needle, or the like in the patient on a periodic, intermittent or continuous basis.
In some embodiments, a transducer array 20 is both pivotable and replaceable. A pivotable swivel connector 30 or other pivoting means may be provided between transducer array 20 and connector 21 or between connector 22 and the rest of housing 12. Pivotal motion of transducer array 20 relative to housing 12 may optionally be limited to a particular angle, for example ±90° or ±70°, by the provision of suitable stops.
a housing sized for holding in an operator's hand;
a display disposed on the housing; and
a transducer assembly comprising a transducer array detachably coupled to the housing.
2. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1 wherein the transducer assembly comprises a memory comprising configuration data for use in controlling one or more operational characteristics of the ultrasonic imaging device.
3. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 2 comprising a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) for controlling the transducer array, wherein the configuration data comprises configuration data for the FPGA.
4. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1 wherein the transducer array is associated with a corresponding functional mode of operation of the ultrasonic imaging device and the ultrasonic imaging device is configured to automatically select the corresponding functional mode in response to detecting that the transducer array has been coupled to the housing.
5. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 4 wherein the ultrasonic imaging device is configured to automatically select the corresponding functional mode from among a plurality of possible operational modes in response to detecting that the transducer array has been coupled to the housing
6. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 4 wherein the transducer assembly comprises a memory comprising configuration data defining the corresponding functional mode.
7. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 6 comprising a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) for controlling the transducer array, wherein the configuration data comprises configuration data for the FPGA.
8. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1 comprising a plurality of transducer arrays wherein each one of the plurality of transducer arrays is detachably couplable to the housing to provide a different angle between the housing and a central output direction of the transducer array.
9. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1 wherein the transducer array is detachably coupled to the housing such that a central output direction of the transducer array is at approximately right angles to the housing.
10. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1 wherein the transducer array is detachably coupled to the housing such that a central output direction of the transducer array is in an angular range of 70°-90° with respect to the housing.
11. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1 wherein the transducer array is coupled to the housing by way of a connector and the transducer assembly comprises a flexible member coupling the transducer array to the connector, allowing the operator to bend the flexible member to achieve a desired angle between a central output direction of the transducer array and the housing.
12. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 11 wherein the flexible member comprises a flexible printed circuit board received in a flexible housing.
13. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1 wherein the transducer array is pivotally coupled to the housing for pivotal motion of the transducer array with respect to the housing.
14. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 13 wherein the pivotal coupling between the transducer array and the housing permits pivotal motion of the transducer array relative to the housing about an axis which is perpendicular to an active face of the transducer array.
15. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 13 wherein the pivotal coupling between the transducer array and the housing permits pivotal motion of the transducer array relative to the housing about an axis which is perpendicular to at least one of a longitudinal axis of the transducer array and a transverse axis of the transducer array.
16. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 13 wherein the pivotal coupling between the transducer array and the housing permits pivotal motion of the transducer array relative to the housing so as to allow an operator to maintain an orientation of the housing relative to the operator when changing between a scan direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of the transducer array and a scan direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the transducer array.
17. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 13 comprising one or more stops disposed to limit the pivotal motion of the transducer array relative to the housing.
18. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1 wherein the transducer array is connected to the housing by way of a cable.
19. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 18 comprising a strap for strapping the housing to an operator's body.
20. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1 wherein the transducer array comprises at least one of: a transducer array having transducer elements arranged in a convex array, a transducer array having transducer elements arranged in a linear array, and a transducer array having transducer elements arranged to provide a phased array.
21. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 4 wherein the transducer array comprises circuitry detectable by a controller of the ultrasonic imaging device to identify the transducer array.
22. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic imaging device weighs less than 10 pounds.
23. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the housing has a transverse dimension in a range of approximately 8 to 10 centimetres and a longitudinal dimension in a range of approximately 8 to 10 centimetres.
24. An ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 23, wherein the housing has a thickness of approximately 2 centimetres.
25. An ultrasonic imaging device comprising:
a transducer assembly comprising a transducer array, the transducer array pivotally coupled to the housing for pivotal motion of the transducer array with respect to the housing.
26. A method for configuring an operational mode of a hand-held ultrasonic imaging device, the method comprising:
providing a transducer assembly comprising a transducer array and a memory comprising configuration data;
detachably coupling the transducer array to a housing;
reading the configuration data from the memory; and
using the configuration data to configure the hand-held ultrasonic imaging device for operation in a particular operational mode.
27. A method according to claim 26 wherein using the configuration data to configure the hand-held ultrasonic imaging device for operation in the particular operational mode comprises configuring a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) contained in the housing based at least in part on the configuration data.
28. A method according to claim 25 comprising:
detaching the transducer array from the housing;
providing a second transducer assembly comprising a second transducer array and a second memory comprising second configuration data;
detachably coupling the second transducer array to the housing;
reading the second configuration data from the second memory; and
using the second configuration data to configure the hand-held ultrasonic imaging device for operation in a second operational mode.
US12188189 2007-08-10 2008-08-07 Hand-held ultrasound imaging device having removable transducer arrays Expired - Fee Related US8088070B2 (en)
US95532507 true 2007-08-10 2007-08-10
US12188189 US8088070B2 (en) 2007-08-10 2008-08-07 Hand-held ultrasound imaging device having removable transducer arrays
US20090043204A1 true true US20090043204A1 (en) 2009-02-12
US8088070B2 US8088070B2 (en) 2012-01-03
ID=40347195
US12188189 Expired - Fee Related US8088070B2 (en) 2007-08-10 2008-08-07 Hand-held ultrasound imaging device having removable transducer arrays
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Owner name: ULTRASONIX MEDICAL CORPORATION, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:PELISSIER, LAURENT;DICKIE, KRIS;CHAN, KWUN-KEAT;REEL/FRAME:021425/0344