Flexible Ultrasound Transducer With Embedded Optical Shape Sensing Fiber for Biomedical Imaging Applications

Flexible ultrasound transducers (FUTs), capable of conforming to irregular surfaces, have become a research hotspot in the field of medical imaging. With these transducers, high-quality ultrasound images can be obtained only if strict design criteria are fulfilled. Moreover, the relative positions of array elements must be determined, which are important for ultrasound beamforming and image reconstruction. These two major characteristics present great challenges to the design and fabrication of FUTs compared to that for traditional rigid probes. In this study, an optical shape-sensing fiber was embedded into a 128-element flexible linear array transducer to acquire the real-time relative positions of array elements to produce high-quality ultrasound images. Minimum concave and convex bend diameters of approximately 20 and 25 mm, respectively, were achieved. The transducer was flexed 2000 times, and yet no obvious damage was observed. Stable electrical and acoustic responses confirmed its mechanical integrity. The developed FUT exhibited an average center frequency of 6.35 MHz, and average -6-dB bandwidth of 69.2%. The array profile and element positions measured by the optic shape-sensing system were instantly transferred to the imaging system. Phantom experiments for both spatial resolution and contrast-to-noise ratio proved that FUTs can maintain satisfactory imaging capability despite bending to sophisticated geometries. Finally, color Doppler images and Doppler spectra of the peripheral arteries of healthy volunteers were obtained in real time.