US 12,109,591 B2
Ultrasound transducer array architecture and method of manufacture
Kevin Mathew Durocher, Troy, NY (US); Warren Lee, Niskayuna, NY (US); and James Wilson Rose, Niskayuna, NY (US)
Assigned to GE Precision Healthcare LLC, Waukesha, WI (US)
Filed by GE Precision Healthcare LLC, Wauwatosa, WI (US)
Filed on Sep. 9, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/565,219.
Prior Publication US 2021/0069749 A1, Mar. 11, 2021
Int. Cl. B06B 1/06 (2006.01); A61B 8/00 (2006.01)
CPC B06B 1/0685 (2013.01) [A61B 8/4494 (2013.01); B06B 1/0607 (2013.01); A61B 8/4411 (2013.01); A61B 8/445 (2013.01); B06B 2201/76 (2013.01)] 23 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
providing an ultrasonic transducer comprising a plurality of modules, each module comprising an ultrasonic transducer array, a flexible interconnect, a connector, and an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a top surface of the ASIC electrically coupled to the flexible interconnect at a first interconnect end, the flexible interconnect extending laterally from the top surface of the ASIC and curving around a first lateral side of the ASIC to a second interconnect end directly vertically below a bottom surface of the ASIC and between the first lateral side and a second lateral side of the ASIC, the flexible interconnect coupled to the connector below the bottom surface of the ASIC, wherein:
a footprint of the ASIC is smaller than a footprint of the ultrasonic transducer array, and
the ASIC and the flexible interconnect are arranged such that the ultrasonic transducer array of each module of the plurality of modules is directly adjacent to another ultrasonic transducer array of another one of the plurality of modules.