You require proper accessories to realize the full potential of your ultrasound system. So, you need to know the correct ultrasound transducer development and types. It will help you know the performance of your ultrasound.
Ultrasound imaging is getting popular constantly. It is becoming the imaging modality of choice for clinicians like emergency medicine, radiology labs, vascular labs etc. It is a cost-effective and patient-friendly imaging alternative that allows you to do the test anywhere.
The attributes help fuel the popularity of ultrasound across many medical fields and specialties. It has raised questions about the types with the gaining popularity of this device.
Read this article briefly and know the development and determine the types properly.
What is an Ultrasound Transducer?
It is also called a probe. It is a device that produces sound waves in the human body that make echoes bouncing off the body tissues. The transducer sends them to a computer after receiving it. Then it builds an image using the sound, named sonogram.
The transducers consist of a plastic or metal casing. This protects the internal electrical components.
How Does It Work
Ultrasound transducers take images of different body parts. You need to have a transducer that connects to the ultrasound machine for use.
You have to place the transducer on the patient after connecting to the ultrasound machine. The clinician can see images of the anatomy of the patient after that.
Transducers connect to the ultrasound via ports. You can find the ports at the bottom of the machine if the system is cart-based. For laptop-based systems, the transducer ports are located on the right and left sides of them.
And the ports stay behind the user interface for tablet-based machines. The transducers transform electrical energy into mechanical energy. The electrical signal from the machine is transformed through piezoelectric crystals inside the transducer into a mechanical sound wave.
The waves permeate the body, reflect off of internal structures, and return to the transducer. Stop the process there and see the transducer changes the returning sound waves into electrical signals.
You can then interpret the displaying the images on the ultrasound screen. In addition, materials are added to the housing and matching layers.
Types of Ultrasound Transducer
The probes come in different shapes and sizes for different applications. Each type comes with its own specifications for making high quality images on different parts of the human body. With the ultrasound transducer development the types became many.
Let us discuss the most common types and their uses below.
● Linear Transducer
They hold this kind of name because they have a linear piezoelectric arrangement. The high frequency linear array transducer contains a rectangular beam. They also have a better than average near field resolution that makes them useful for applications where you need high quality images.
Some clinical applications will use the high frequency linear array transducer for vascular or breast. The application will regulate the frequency and footprint of the probe.
You can get both 2D and 3D imaging in the linear probe. The frequency will vary depending on which you need. 2D probes have a wide footprint and a central frequency of 2.5 MHz to 12 MHz and 3D probes have a central frequency of 7.5 MHz to 11 MHz.
● Convex Ultrasound Transducer
These are referred to as curved ultrasound probes. They have a piezoelectric crystal arrangement that is round in shape. The main application of convex probes is for deeper organ imaging through the shape.
3D imaging convex probes have a wide footprint and a central frequency of 3.5 MHz – 6.5 MHz. 2D probes also have a wide footprint but have a central frequency of 2.5 MHz – 7.5 MHz.
● Phased Array Transducer
It is a common type of ultrasound probe. You can see the crystals of this type arranged in a stacked construction. The beam of a phased array is narrow and triangular in shape. The near-field resolution is poorer than with other types.
It has a small footprint with a frequency between 2MHz – 6 MHz. The most common uses for this probe are cardiac and trans-cranial examinations.
● Pencil Transducer
The other name of it is CW Doppler probes. They calculate blood flow and sound speed in blood. It has a small footprint and uses a low frequency of between 2MHz – 8MHz.
● Endocavitary Transducer
This type performs internal examinations of the patient. Endocavitary probes fit within specific body pores. They vary in size and shape based on the application.
For instance, a common type is the range of 3.5 MHz – 11.5 MHz.
Development of Ultrasound Transducer
The components of this device are the following:
● piezoelectric crystals
● acoustic matching layers and
● damping layers.
Let us know more about the ultrasound transducer development below:
● Piezoelectric Crystals
These materials like lead zirconate titanate (PZT) are the elements of the active materials in ultrasound transducers. The materials can produce sound waves after applying an electric field and vice versa.
● Crystal Shape
This affects the type of image produced. The arranged crystals in linear arrays produce rectangular images.
The crystals in these arrays come in a curved shape. It produces images in a sector format. You can curve the front surface of the piezoelectric crystals to produce a graded frequency region in the curved front surface.
● Manufacturing
The curved shape of the piezoelectric crystal is produced by controlling a planar piezoelectric composite member. Suction forces help retain the curvature.
● Backing Material
It is made from a composite of tungsten powder, metallic oxide, and an insulating cement.
Bottom Line
Clinicians rely on tools and technologies to assess patients fast with reliability. The ultrasound transducer development lets the users get cost effective and reliable medical devices. It empowers them to provide the best possible care for their patients.
Experience peace of mind and see something better with the developed probes.
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