A 1 MHz multielement curved transducers for transskull imaging

A piezoelectric multielement transducer was developed and constructed. The prototype transducer has a curved shape with an imaging radius of 200 mm. The transducer dimensions are 65 mm by 13 mm, and it consists of 16 elements. The electrical scanning of the transducer elements is performed so that a virtual element is obtained in between the adjacent elements. Thus, the transducer acts as a 31-element array. Each element transmits and receives ultrasound independently. Accordingly wide beam insonification is achieved in the direction of the image plane. In the direction normal to the image plane the ultrasonic beam is focused by a lens. The array has been connected to a microcomputer for initial imaging tests. The structure of the transducer and the results from imaging of a pointlike test object are presented