A ring of transmitter and receiver transducer arrays circumbscribes an object to be scanned. Semicircular wave fronts of ultrasound energy are propagated from different points around the ring of transducers by triggering the transmitter arrays in sequence. The reflected and transmitted ultrasound energy picked up by the receiver arrays is then electronically analyzed and a synthetically focused image corresponding to the scanned object is reconstructed on a display screen. Surprisingly high qual...

In an ultrasound transmitting or receiving apparatus, a plurality of ultrasound transducer elements comprising an ultrasound probe are arranged along a line to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves. For the purpose of sequentially transmitting and receiving an ultrasound beam through the transducer elements, variable-delay circuits are provided for applying delay times to the transmitting signals and/or the received signals. The variable-delay circuits include memory control devices, the address...

An ultrasound sensor consists of an optical fiber having an active portion with high birefringence and two non-active portions located at each end of the active portion. A bragg grating is provided in the fiber. An ultrasound measurement device includes an ultrasound sensor with an excitation source for the fiber and an analysis unit connected to the fiber.

A method of nondestructively testing materials by ultrasound comprises continuously supplying a non-contact-making transmitter with electrical high-frequency power at a suitable frequency for generating ultrasound waves; amplitude-modulating with a low frequency in the transmitter and/or in a receiver the ultrasound waves generated in the transmitter and/or the signal voltage received in the receiver by the creation of a low-frequency magnetic field; and using the amplitude-modulation for separa...

A flexible polyurethane cover with a closed end that is contact clear for establishing sterility while using an ultrasound probe. The cover has gel prepositioned inside the contact clear polyurethane closed end. A drape can be attached to the contact clear cover. A method of making such a cover including folding a contact clear polyurethane sheet over itself and securing the side edges to form a compartment with a closed end, inverting the cover as necessary to position the seams inside the cove...

A rotation-symmetric ultrasound horn for producing a circular seal to effect liquid-tight joining together of, for example, packaging container parts. The ultrasound horn is connected to an ultrasound source which supplies the horn axially via a supply end. The horn displays an opposing, tubular working end with a circular work surface. The mean diameter of the tubular part varies along the axis of the horn so that the horn, in the region of the work surface, is of greater mean diameter and cros...

An ultrasound transducer having transducer elements arrayed in a polygonal shape on a common plane. The polygonal array of transducer elements includes a core unit consisting of a single transducer element of a polygonal shape and a plural number of frame units each consisting of a plural number of transducer elements arranged in a polygonal shape around the transducer element of the core unit. Each one of the transducer elements of the frame units are formed in the shape of a square block and e...

Temporal variations in backscatter from an ultrasound contrast agent located in the vascular system and induced by movement of the scatterers are used to visualise the presence of contrast agent by determining areas where correlation between successive ultrasound images is poor. This low level of correlation arising from intravascular contrast agent movement permits distinction between stationary bulk tissue and moving bulk tissue since movement of the latter solid tissue scatterers is correlate...

An intravascular ultrasound imaging system in which data from an ultrasonic transducer array is digitized and processed in a pipeline, the latter having means to divert/extract data from the pipeline and reintroduce it into the pipeline to enable images to be displayed retrospectively.

An ultrasound adapter assembly includes a rectangular zero-insertion-force receptacle, such as the ITT Cannon.RTM. DL-series Zero Insertion Force ("DL-ZIF") receptacle, and a high-density micro-coaxial ("HDMC") connector plug interconnected by micro-coaxial conductors. The adapter assembly includes a frame for supporting the two connectors and a locking mechanism for use in semi-permanently attaching the adapter assembly to an ultrasound imaging system receptacle. The adapter assembly permits ol...