Patent ID: 7791254

Claim:
An ultrasound transducer that is adapted to be connected to an ultrasound system, the transducer comprising: a piezoelectric sensor element that is associated with an ultrasound system and which is adapted to process ultrasound signals and which has characteristic wavelengths of a signal generated thereby; a preamplifier located near the piezoelectric sensor element and which is connected to the piezoelectric sensor element to receive a signal from the piezoelectric sensor element, the distance between the preamplifier and the piezoelectric sensor element being short compared to the characteristic wavelengths of the signal received by the preamplifier from the piezoelectric sensor element; a receiver that receives a signal from the preamplifier and generates a signal suitable for transmission to the ultrasound system; power supply circuitry; signal routing circuitry that preferentially directs excitation energy from the ultrasound system to the piezoelectric sensor element, received signal energy from the piezoelectric sensor element to the preamplifier, and amplified signal energy from the receiving amplifier to the ultrasound system.