Rad 352

Lecture 6

Types of Transducers
L. MARAM M FATHI
CERTIFY MEDICAL SONOGRAPHER
RADIOLOGY FIRST SPECIALIST
 Real-time Scanning
❑ The transducer is responsible for sending out scan lines across a defined plane.

❑ Pulses of ultrasound are sent out and produce scan lines.

❑ All of the scan lines, when placed next to each other, form an image that is called

a frame.
 Types of Transducers
There are two methods of sending out scan lines to form an image:

1. Mechanical scanning (via mechanical transducers) and

2. Electronic scanning (via electronic transducers). most often today,

Both of these methods provide a means for sweeping the ultrasound beam

through the tissue repeatedly and rapidly.

 Mechanical Transducers
Mechanical scan heads 🡺These transducers typically had

✔one or more piezoelectric elements connected to a motor, or

✔a fixed element with a mirror connected to a motor (Figure 2-12).

🡺The motor steered the element, or a mirror, to produce the scan lines that

made up the image. This produced a sector image pattern.

FIGURE 2-12 Mechanical sector scanner
❑ The piezoelectric element and motor were inside of a protective housing.

❑ Oil was used as a coupling medium to prevent air within the housing.

❑ These transducers were fixed frequency and fixed focus.

🡺 That is, in order to change the frequency or the location of the focal

zone, one had to change the entire scan head.

 Mechanical Focusing
Mechanical Focusing of the beam was by

1. Shape of the element or

2. The use of a lens.

 The major advantages of the mechanical transducer were

1. Inexpensive and

2. Had a small footprint.

Unfortunately, they were fragile and their mechanical elements were

easily broken
 Electronic Transducers
❑ Electronic transducers that have multiple active elements. (array).

❑ Each sub element is connected to a wire, so it may fire independently

❑ can selectively excite the elements as needed to shape and steer the beam.

❑ With most array transducers, no motors are needed for beam steering.

❑ Arrays may be either sequenced or phased with various image shapes.

(Figure 2-7).
 1. Linear Sequenced Array
is a transducer that is often used in vascular or small parts imaging.

This transducer produces a rectangular shaped image.

The elements are arranged in a line, next to each other, but are

fired in small groups in sequence.

For example, the elements are not fired 1–2–3–4–5 but are fire
(1–2–3) . . . (4–5–6) … (7–8–9).
FIGURE 2-13 Linear sequenced array transducer. FIGURE 2-14 Linear
A. The image footprint of the linear sequenced array transducer.
sequenced array transducer format (left) and image (right).
B. Image of a linear sequenced array transducer.
Linear sequenced arrays do not need any beam steering to produce a rectangular image.

However, should beam steering be needed, whether for Doppler or to create a vector
image, the beam can be electronically steered (Table 2-7).
 2. Curved Sequenced Array
❑ The curved sequenced array transducer, also referred to as a convex,

curvilinear, or curved sequential array, is based on the same

technology as that of the linear sequenced array but with a curved face.

❑ Also the elements are fired in groups (Table 2-8).

FIGURE 2-15 Curvilinear array transducer. FIGURE 2-16 Curved sequenced array
A. The image footprint of the curvilinear array transducer. transducer format (A) and image (B).
B. Image of a curvilinear array transducer
 3. Linear Phased Arrays
is more commonly known as a sector or vector transducer (Figure 2-17).

This probe typically has a small footprint and is used for

1. Cardiac imaging,

2. Neonatal brain imaging,

3. with some endocavitary transducers,

4. and any other application where a sector image shape is desired

 3. Linear Phased Arrays
❑ electronic steering is needed for every scan line.

❑ Unlike the curved and linear sequenced arrays, where the shape of the

transducer dictates the shape of the image, in the phased array the shape of the

face of the transducer does not resemble the shape of the image.
FIGURE 2-17 Linear phased array transducer.
FIGURE 2-18 Endo vaginal transducer.
This phased array transducer (A) will yield a
This is a type of a phased array transducer.
sector shaped image (B).
❑ This transducer can take either the sector, or true “pie-shaped” image, or the vector image shape, which is the flat-

topped, trapezoidal image shape (Figure 2-19).

FIGURE 2-19 Phased array transducer and sector versus

vector image shapes.
A. sector transducer produces a “piece of pie”-shaped
image with point of origin on the transducer face.
B. Vector transducers are sector transducers in which
the scan lines do not have a common point of origin.
❑ Naturally, the phased array uses phasing to steer and focus the beam (Table 2-9).

❑ Phasing

❑ is changing the timing of the shocking of the elements in order to shape and steer the beam.

❑ All arrays are phased focused. That is, all of the array transducers mentioned in this section use

phasing to control the focusing in the scan plane.

❑Phasing provides the sonographer the ability to control the depth of the focal zone in the scan
plane.

❑The order in which the elements are shocked determines beam steering and focusing (Figures 2-20 to 2-22).
FIGURE 2-20 Phasing and beam steering.
❑ Phased array technology permits steering of the ultrasound beam.
❑ By adjusting the timing of excitation of the individual piezoelectric crystals, the wave
front of ultrasound energy can be directed, as shown.
❑ Beam steering is a fundamental feature of how two-dimensional images are created.
FIGURE 2-22 Phasing and focusing.
By adjusting the timing of excitation of the individual crystals within a FIGURE 2-21 Beam steering.
phased array transducer, the beam can be focused.
The beam former electronically steers the beam
In this example, the outer elements are fired first, followed sequentially
by the more central elements.
by introducing phase delays during the transmit
Because the speed of sound is fixed, this manipulation in the timing of and receive timing of the phased array transducer.
excitation results in a wave front that is curved and focused.
This is called “transmit focusing.” Changing the timing of when the
elements are shocked focuses the beam.
 4. Annular Array
❑ The annular array, which is not currently being produced,

❑ is the only array that is mechanically steered.

❑ It is phased focused, but the steering is performed with a motor.

❑ The transducer is made up of one disc-shaped element cut into

concentric circles. Each circle of the “bulls-eye” is wired to act
independently. The annular array produces a sector image (Table 2-10).
❑The advantage of the annular array transducer is that it has excellent
lateral resolution.

FIGURE 2-23 Annular array.

The annular array is mechanically
steered (with a motor) and
electronically focused.
 5. Three-Dimensional Transducers
❑ Three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound images are traditionally made up of two

dimensional (2D) acquisitions placed next to each other.

There are three different ways to create the 3D image:

1. freehand,

2. with a mechanical transducer,

3. or the newest method, electronically, with the latest 2D array technology.

 Freehand Method
❑ In the freehand method, also referred to as manual, the sonographer is

responsible for moving the transducer through a path to gather the 2D slices.

❑ This method is the most operator dependent, as it relies upon the steady hand of

the sonographer to move the transducer at the same speed over the tissue.
❑ Because of the potential variability in movement across the plane,
measurements of the 3D image are not possible with freehand 3D
technique.

❑The 2D slices, once converted to 3D format, may then be sliced to

view coronal, sagittal, and axial planes.
 Mechanical Transducer
❑ With the mechanical technique, also referred to as automated or mechanical

3D method, specialized transducers have been developed that are essentially

curved sequenced array transducers mounted onto a motor.

❑ These transducers permit measurement on the screen of the 3D image as

well as the use of real-time 3D, also known as four-dimensional (4D) ultrasound.
❑ The frame rate of the 4D image is limited by the speed of the motor.

❑ The latest technology for acquiring a 3D image is the new

electronic array.

❑ These transducers acquire real-time volumes using transducers

with greater than 2500 elements (Figure 2-24).

FIGURE 2-24 Three-dimensional imaging.
A. Different ways of obtaining 3D image.
B. 3D multiplanar image.
C. 2D transducer capable of capturing real-time volumes with no motor needed for steering the beam
 Continuous-Wave Transducers
❑ CW transducers are most often utilized in Doppler studies.

❑ A dedicated CW transducer will contain two piezoelectric elements:

❑ one to continuously transmit sound and one to continuously receive sound.

❑ No image is generated with these transducers, because it is not possible to time

how long it takes the echoes to return (Figure 2-25).