Abstract: An ultrasonic apparatus including a therapeutic ultrasonic transducer and a diagnostic ultrasonic transducer which is detachably coupled to the therapeutic ultrasonic transducer is provided. Here, the therapeutic and diagnostic ultrasonic transducers can be mounted to be independently replaceable with new ones. The therapeutic ultrasonic transducer and the diagnostic ultrasonic transducer, both of which constitute the ultrasonic apparatus, can be independently exchanged, transducers having various frequency bands and focusing distances can be combined, and damage to the diagnostic ultrasonic transducer can be prevented by preventing heat generated from therapeutic ultrasonic waves from being transferred to the diagnostic ultrasonic transducer.

Abstract: Compound ultrasonic transducers are disclosed that include multiple transducer elements configured to have overlapping or consecutive depths of focus in an axial direction. Embodiments of such transducers can be composed of a concentric disc- and one or more annular-type elements and each element has a different radius of curvature to produce multiple focal zones (depths-of focus) upon excitation. Exemplary embodiments include a concentric disc- and one annular-type elements, with each element has a different radius of curvature, which are referred to herein as a dual-focus therapeutic ultrasound transducer (DFTUT). Method of directing ultrasonic energy to a target area and thereby aligning ultrasonic focal zones (depths-of focus) are also disclosed. Two or more transducer elements can each be configured to produce a different focal zone at the target area, such as targeted tissue.

Abstract: For noninvasive treatment of tissue using high intensity focused ultrasound, composite imaging and therapy acoustic techniques are described. Embodiments include an integrated multi-functional confocal array and a strategy to perform both imaging and therapy simultaneously with this array by using coded excitation techniques with/without a notch filter. An exemplary array embodiment includes a triple-row phased array with one array in the center row for imaging and two arrays in the outer rows for therapy. Different types of piezoelectric materials and stack configurations may be employed to maximize the respective therapy and imaging functionalities. Reflected therapeutic signals that would otherwise corrupt the quality of imaging signals received by the center-row array can be mitigated or removed by use of the coding and/or a notch filter when B-mode images are formed during therapy.

Abstract: Dual-layer acoustic transducer array designs, related fabrication methods, and ultrasound imaging techniques are described. The designs include two perpendicular 1-D arrays for clinical 3-D acoustic imaging of targets near the transducer. These targets can include the breast, carotid artery, prostate, and musculoskeletal system among others. The transducer designs reduce the fabrication complexity and the channel count making 3-D rectilinear imaging more realizable. With such designs, an effective N×N 2-D array can be developed using only N transmitters and N receivers. This benefit becomes very significant when N becomes greater than 128, for example. Embodiments/aspects of the present disclosure are directed to fabricating and interconnecting 2-D arrays with a large number of elements (>5,000) for 3-D rectilinear imaging.