Focused intravascular ultrasonic probe using dimpled transducer elements

Y Chen; W B Qiu; K H Lam; B Q Liu; X P Jiang; H R Zheng; H S Luo; H L W Chan; J Y Dai

doi:10.1016/j.ultras.2014.07.011

Focused intravascular ultrasonic probe using dimpled transducer elements

Ultrasonics. 2015 Feb:56:227-31. doi: 10.1016/j.ultras.2014.07.011. Epub 2014 Jul 27.

Authors

Y Chen¹, W B Qiu², K H Lam³, B Q Liu², X P Jiang⁴, H R Zheng², H S Luo⁵, H L W Chan¹, J Y Dai⁶

Affiliations

¹ The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China; Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
² Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
³ Department of Electrical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
⁴ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Jingdezhen, China.
⁵ Information Materials and Devices Research Center, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai, China.
⁶ The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China; Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: jiyan.dai@polyu.edu.hk.

PMID: 25108608
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultras.2014.07.011

Abstract

High-frequency focused intravascular ultrasonic probes were fabricated in this study using dimple technique based on PMN-PT single crystal and lead-free KNN-KBT-Mn ceramic. The center frequency, bandwidth, and insertion loss of the PMN-PT transducer were 34 MHz, 75%, and 22.9 dB, respectively. For the lead-free probe, the center frequency, bandwidth, and insertion loss were found to be 40 MHz, 72%, and 28.8 dB, respectively. The ultrasonic images of wire phantom and vessels with good resolution were obtained to evaluate the transducer performance. The -6 dB axial and lateral resolutions of the PMN-PT probe were determined to be 58 μm and 131 μm, respectively. For the lead-free probe, the axial and lateral resolutions were found to be 44 μm and 125 μm, respectively. These results suggest that the mechanical dimpling technique has good potential in preparing focused transducers for intravascular ultrasound applications.

Keywords: Dimple technique; Intravascular ultrasound; Lead-free ceramic; PMN–PT single crystal.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Ceramics
Equipment Design
Transducers*
Ultrasonography, Interventional / instrumentation*