Patent ID: 7052463

Claim:
A cooling system for an ultrasonic imaging system having a probe for transmitting and receiving acoustic signals to and from biological tissue contacting the probe, the cooling system comprising: a removable pocket defining a cavity therein and removably mounted to a distal end of the probe, the removable pocket having a tip for transmitting and receiving the acoustic signals therethrough to and from the biological tissue contacting the tip at an outer surface of the tip, the removable pocket further having a first opening and a second opening; a conduit for circulating cooling medium therein, said conduit including a cooling medium inlet and cooling medium outlet respectively communicating with an inlet cooling line and outlet cooling line of said conduit for flowing the cooling medium to and from the cavity at the distal end of the probe via the first and second openings, respectively; a cooling medium seal within the probe and in proximity to the cooling medium inlet for reducing or stopping flow of the cooling medium to the cavity via the first opening; and a heat exchanger located externally from the probe and in fluid communication with the circulating cooling medium via a cable housing a portion of the conduit, said heat exchanger having means for removing heat from the circulating cooling medium, wherein at least another portion of the conduit is in proximity to an external surface of the probe tip.