A reflector is disclosed, suitable for use in an apparatus for sending and/or receiving ultrasonic energy through a propagating fluid. A thin layer of ultrasonically transmissive material is disposed on a supportive substrate having an optically rough surface. A single gaseous layer is trapped between the ultrasonically transmissive layer and the substrate, the gaseous layer being contained in the asperities of the substrate layer. The substrate is preferably a metal having a roughness in the ra...

An ultrasound wattmeter for measuring the magnitude of energy radiated by a therapeutic ultrasound applicator includes a sealed, oil-filled housing within which a float assembly is suspended. The float assembly includes an ultrasound reflective float as well as a coil and a vane supported by the float. The float assembly assumes a null position in the absence of ultrasonic radiation. A window in the housing permits the application of ultrasonic energy from the applicator to the float for urging ...

An ultrasound calibrator apparatus and method for calibrating ultrasound equipment. The apparatus includes a pair of opposed bellows oscillatorily transferring a fluent medium back and forth through a channel with a well-defined cross-sectional area such that the flow velocity therethrough is known. A probe in communication with ultrasound equipment to be tested is submerged in a reservoir which is situated in close proximity to the channel such that the flow velocity can be measured therewith. ...

An ultrasound scanner for scanning a medium for anomalies scattering acoustic waves, having ultrasonic transducing means positioned within scanning range of the medium; ultrasonic transmitting means coupled to the transducing means for providing a train of pulsed ultrasonic carrier signals. Each pulsed carrier signal of the train has a constant and unique frequency, the train of pulsed carrier signals together covering a range of frequencies. The transducing means is oriented to propagate the tr...

An ultrasound phantom is provided which has ultrasound wave velocities, attenuation coefficients and scattering coefficients which closely mimic those of human tissue and which permits diagnostic ultrasound equipment to be accurately tested and calibrated on a continuing day-to-day basis. The phantom preferably includes a substantially air-tight enclosure or box, having therein a quantity of reticulated synthetic resin foam material and a salt water solution. The ultrasonic characteristics of th...

An ultrasound generator for acoustic irradiation of pathological changes of a human body comprises a planarly fashioned piezo-electric transducer which is acoustically coupled to an acoustical lens on one surface by a soft metal layer and is acoustically coupled on the opposite surface by a second soft metal layer to a dampening member. The soft metal layers act as both acoustically coupling layers and as electrodes for the piezo-electric transducer. The piezo-electric transducer can be formed o...

The scanhead includes an impeller which is designed to swirl the liquid adjacent the ultrasound transducers as the transducers are rotated. The fluid dynamics established by the swirling liquid cause any bubbles within the liquid to be forced to the center of the swirling liquid where they are out of the zone of transmitted or received ultrasound energy. When an impeller having multiple vanes with an opening formed therebetween is used, the bubbles are forced to the center of the impeller.

The ultrasonic apparatus contains an imaging lens for focusing ultrasound waves, a diverging device for receiving converging ultrasound waves from the lens and for transmitting ultrasound waves such that beams coming from a single object point are focused along a focal line, and an ultrasound detector positioned at the focal line indicating the ultrasound waves. The detector contains a large number of elongated detector elements. In particular, the diverging device comprises an acoustic mirror c...

An ultrasound transducer, comprising a substrate (10) which forms a backing medium, a layer of piezoelectric material (20), and one or more matching layers (30, 40) whose acoustic impedance has a value between that of the piezoelectric material and that of a foremost, propagation medium (50). The matching layer (layers) is (are) provided exclusively between the piezoelectric material (20) and the foremost, propagation medium (50). The acoustic impedance of the backing medium (10) is sufficiently...

A method and apparatus for ultrasound tomography for use in clinical diagnostics, the apparatus comprising paired couples of transmission transducers (3) and reflection transducers (5,6), the paired couples of transducer means being independently operable within a container (1) of ultrasound transmission medium to provide data capable of processing by computational methods for mathematical reconstruction of the distribution of specific values of acoustic data to permit separate comparative and s...