US 11,806,553 B2
Transducer assembly for generating focused ultrasound
Jeffrey Kyle Woodacre, Halifax (CA); and Jeremy Brown, Halifax (CA)
Assigned to DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY, Halifax (CA)
Appl. No. 16/642,603
Filed by DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY, Halifax (CA)
PCT Filed Aug. 30, 2018, PCT No. PCT/CA2018/051047
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Feb. 27, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/041040, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 7, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/629,475, filed on Feb. 12, 2018.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/553,719, filed on Sep. 1, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2020/0346044 A1, Nov. 5, 2020
Int. Cl. A61N 7/00 (2006.01)
CPC A61N 7/00 (2013.01) [A61N 2007/003 (2013.01); A61N 2007/006 (2013.01); A61N 2007/0039 (2013.01); A61N 2007/0082 (2013.01)] 29 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An ultrasound system for generating focused ultrasound and performing histotripsy, the ultrasound system comprising:
an ultrasound transducer assembly including:
a piezoelectric layer;
an acoustic lens having a proximal surface and a curved distal surface, wherein the proximal surface is attached to the piezoelectric layer; and
an acoustic impedance matching layer coating the curved distal surface of the acoustic lens; and
driver circuitry operably connected with the ultrasound transducer assembly, wherein the driver circuitry is configured to deliver electrical pulses with a voltage and operating frequency configured to generate ultrasound pulses that produce cavitation within water;
wherein an acoustic impedance of the piezoelectric layer resides within plus or minus 40% of an acoustic impedance of the acoustic lens; and
wherein the acoustic lens has an f-number of less than two; and further
an intermediate layer is provided between the acoustic lens and the piezoelectric layer, wherein an acoustic impedance of the intermediate layer is less than the acoustic impedance of the acoustic lens and the acoustic impedance of the piezoelectric layer.