A Miniature Forward-looking Coherent Multi-Phased-Array Transducer for interventional guidance

In recent years, there has been a widespread increase in the use of laparoscopic minimally invasive surgeries. However, the imaging method is generally optical imaging, only providing surface information of the lesion, unable to give useful information on the depth direction during surgery comprehensively. In this study, a miniature phased-array probe, consists of 48 high-frequency micro-linear elements, was present. For inserting the probe into the human body, an outside housing long needle was employed with an OD of 6 mm, small enough to pass through the incision of the laparoscopic surgery for forward-looking the body’s lesions. Meanwhile, a working channel is located in the middle of the probe, which can compatible some intervention devices, e.g., a steel puncture needle. For evaluating its guiding performance, the center frequency and -6 dB bandwidth of this probe are measured as 18 MHz and 48%, respectively. And a tissue-mimicking phantom experiment was performed. All these results show that, such an approach can provide a better real-time ultrasound-guided image of lesions and intervention devices for doctors during the surgery, thus improving the guiding accuracy and reducing patient’s pain.