Patent ID: 7066887

Claim:
An ultrasonic bi-plane imaging probe for invasive medical applications, said probe comprising: at least one ultrasonic bi-plane transducer mounted at a distal part of the probe and comprising a piezoelectric member and a combination of a first sub-array of transducer electrodes disposed on a first surface of the piezoelectric member and a second sub-array of transducer electrodes disposed on a second surface of piezoelectric member, the first and second sub-arrays of transducer electrodes intersecting each other and being rotated by 90 degrees with respect to each other, the first and second sub-arrays of transducer electrodes being superimposed on the first and second surfaces of the piezoelectric member so as to have a common transducer footprint or a common axis of symmetry; first and second flexible interconnection circuits for providing electrical interconnections to said first and second sub-arrays wherein at least one of said interconnection circuits is folded such that the first and second interconnection circuits extend in a common direction; and a transducer tip located at the distal part of the probe at which the bi-plane transducer is mounted.