Patent ID: 8647281

Claim:
An imaging assembly for an intravascular ultrasound system, the imaging assembly comprising: a catheter having a longitudinal length, a distal end, and a proximal end, the catheter defining a lumen extending along the longitudinal length of the catheter from the proximal end to the distal end, the catheter configured and arranged for insertion into the vasculature of a patient; 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 being disposed in the lumen and also for extending out from the distal end of the catheter, the imaging core comprising a body having a proximal end and a distal end and defining at least one inner chamber, a tubular shaft oriented within the body, a rotatable magnet disposed in the body, wherein the magnet is configured and arranged to be driven to rotate by a magnetic field generated external to the catheter, a tilted reflective surface configured and arranged to rotate with the magnet, and at least one fixed transducer disposed in the body and supported by the tubular shaft, 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; and at least one transducer conductor electrically coupled to the at least one transducer, a portion of the at least one transducer conductor oriented within the tubular shaft, the at least one transducer conductor configured and arranged to extend out from the body and into the lumen of the catheter when the imaging core is extended from the catheter; wherein the imaging core is attached to the imaging assembly only by a tether that extends proximally from the imaging core, the tether comprising said at least one transducer conductor.