Miniature - ultrasonic probe mechanically controllable.

摘要

A miniaturized ultrasonic probe comprises a housing encasing a motor, an ultrasonic transducer mounted for controlled rotation on the motor shaft, and an angular position sensor connected to the shaft. The housing has a radiating dome about the transducer and is sealed and wholly filled with an acoustically-transparent fluid. The dual frequency transducer operatively emits either of two ultrasonic frequency beams from opposed faces of a sandwich-like construction, and the position sensor is implemented using a low mass variable-inductor arrangement. The resulting probe attains unusually rapid accelerations and changes in beam direction with highly accurate control of transducer orientation, all in a miniaturized construction particularly well adapted for operative insertion in a human or animal body cavity or surgical site.