Patent ID: 8298149

Claim:
A catheter assembly for an intravascular ultrasound system, the catheter assembly comprising: a catheter having a longitudinal length, a distal end, and a proximal end, the catheter comprising a lumen extending along the longitudinal length of the catheter from the proximal end to the distal end; an imaging core with a longitudinal length that is substantially less than the longitudinal length of the catheter, the imaging core configured and arranged for inserting into the lumen to the distal end of the catheter, the imaging core comprising a rotatable driveshaft having a distal end and a proximal end, at least one rotatable transducer disposed at and coupled to the distal end of the driveshaft, the at least one transducer configured and arranged for transforming applied electrical signals to acoustic signals and also for transforming received echo signals to electrical signals, a transformer disposed at the proximal end of the driveshaft, at least one imaging core conductor coupling the at least one transducer to the transformer, and a motor coupled to the driveshaft between the one or more transducers and the transformer, the motor comprising a rotatable magnet and at least two magnetic field windings disposed around at least a portion of the magnet, the magnet having a longitudinal axis and an aperture defined along the longitudinal axis of the magnet; at least one catheter conductor electrically coupled to the transformer and extending to the proximal end of the catheter; and at least one motor conductor electrically coupled to the magnetic field windings and extending to the proximal end of the catheter, wherein the assembly does not include a mirror.