60 MHz PMN-PT based 1-3 composite transducer for IVUS imaging

High frequency transducers are desired for usage in catheter-based IVUS (intravascular ultrasound) imaging, which is the cross-sectional visualization of the interior of blood vessels in the human body. High frequency intravascular imaging benefits from the use of high sensitivity and broad bandwidths as they allow for high resolution imaging at increased depth of field. The 40 MHz piezo-composite micromachined ultrasound transducer (PC-MUT) technique developed by the authors in the past years demonstrated that the limitations of traditional dice-and-fill methodology for the fabrication of 1–3 composites could be overcome by the application of deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) of PMN-PT single crystals [1,2,3]. In this work, the fabrication and testing of higher frequency transducers and prototype catheters is presented. 1–3 PC-MUT composites were characterized and transducer devices with a target frequency of 60 MHz were prototyped and incorporated into functional catheters for imaging using a porcine animal model.