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Ultrasonic transducers for medical diagnostic imaging

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Abstract

Over the past decades, ultrasound imaging technology has made tremendous progress in obtaining important diagnostic information from patients in a rapid, noninvasive manner. Although the technology has benefited from sophisticated signal processing technology and imaging system integration, much of this progress has been derived from the development of ultrasonic transducers that are in direct contact with patients. An overview of medical ultrasonic imaging transducers is presented in this review that describes their structure, types, and application fields. The structural components of a typical transducer are presented in detail including an active layer, acoustic matching layers, a backing block, an acoustic lens, and kerfs. The types of transducers are classified according to the dimensions of ultrasound images: one-dimensional array, mechanical wobbling, and two-dimensional array transducers. Advantages of each transducer over the other and the technical issues for further performance enhancement are described. Application of the transducers to various clinical imaging fields is also reviewed.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Next-generation Medical Device Development Program for the Newly-Created Market of the National Research Foundation (NRF) funded by the Korean government, MSIP (No. 2016M3D5A1937126).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Probe Development Team, Alpinion Medical Systems Co., Ltd., Seoul, Korea

    Wonseok Lee

  2. School of Mechanical Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea

    Yongrae Roh

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  1. Wonseok Lee
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  2. Yongrae Roh
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Correspondence to Yongrae Roh.

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Lee, W., Roh, Y. Ultrasonic transducers for medical diagnostic imaging. Biomed. Eng. Lett. 7, 91–97 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13534-017-0021-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13534-017-0021-8

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