88 New Patents

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In exemplary embodiments, an ultrasonic trans- ducer serves as vibration generator. It is an ob- ject of the disclosure to construct such an apparatus which, with the simplest technical construction, is functionally reliable and can be operated in a very adaptable manner and which is simultaneously especially productive with regard to the desired destruction effect. In ac- cordance with the disclosure this object is ac- hieved in that an ultrasonic transducer to be focused on the calculus serves as a direct acoustic irradiator for the calculus, which irradiator has a surface area such that the sound energy per square unit along the transmission path is suffic- iently small so as to avoid tissue damage on the one hand, but is sufficiently great at the focus point that is suffices for the destruction of the calculus disposed at the focus, on the other hand.

4526571

C U R V E D U L T R A S O N I C S U R G I C A L A S P I R A T O R

David G Wuchinich assigned to Cooper Laser- Sonics Inc

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An ultrasonic surgical aspirator having a trans- ducer supported in a handpiece for generating ultrasonic vibrations which are transmitted to the tip of an operative probe through a trans- mitting structure including an elongated slender portion which is curved along at least a portion of its length to displace the longitudinal axis of the handpiece from the longitudinal axis of the probe attached to the end of the slender portion of the transmitting member to permit unobstruc- ted vision along the probe. The radius of curva- ture of the curved portion of the transmitting structure is equal to or greater than 0.7 times the

length of the longitudinal waves being trans- mitted.

4528854

PHASED-ARRAY RECEIVER

Toru Shimazaki, Tokyo, Japan assigned to Yokogawa Medical Systems Limited

A phased-array receiver used in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus or the like for ap- propriately varying the phases of the output vol- tages from transducer elements receiving ultrasonic waves and for summing these voltages to change the directional or other characteristics of ultrasonic waves. The receiver is equipped with a plurality of blocks each comprising a tap- ped delay line and a crosspoint switch. The cros- spoint switch is capable of selecting any desired one of various delay periods of the delay line. The receiver can perform all types of scans ranging from linear scan, intermediate scan, dynamic focusing scan, to sector scan.

8502531

U L T R A S O N I C D I A G N O S T I C A P P A R A T U S

Yuichi HIROTA, Toshikatsu KODAMA, Hideya AKASAKA, Yasuhito TAKEUCHI, Yokogawa Medical Systems, Ltd., 7-11, Nakacho 2-chome, Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180, Japan assigned to YOKOGAWA MEDICAL SYSTEMS LTD;

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is equipped with a matrix switch inspection means and is so constructed as to employ a mechanism which is provided on ordinary ultrasonic diagnostic ap- paratus. The apparatus incorporates a test sequencer. Taps on a delay line are changed by the test sequencer in order from one end of the

New Patents 89

line in one channel of a matrix switch. Every time the taps are changed from one to another, a testing signal is input to the channel from an ul- trasonic probe driving means, and a signal ob- tained from the output end of the delay line is

displayed as a false echo signal on the screen of a display. Thus, it is possible to detect a malfunc- tion in the matrix switch on the basis of the pat- tern of the false echo image displayed on the screen.