CONVEX PROBE

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Introduction
Curvilinear or convex probes are used for scanning deeper structures. The
elements are assembled along a curved axis. The generated pulses travel
out in different directions in contrast to linear arrays; so sector-type images
are formed. The field of view is wider than the probe’s face. The frequency
range for these types of probes is between 1 and 8 MHz, which
allows greater penetration with less resolution . This probe is used in
abdominal and pelvic imaging in the following scenarios:
• Evaluation of abdominal organs (liver, pancreas, gall
bladder, spleen)
• Evaluation of the kidneys and bladder
• Abdominal FAST exam
• Abdominal aorta
• Musculoskeletal and soft tissue evaluation in obese patients
• Intraoperative ultrasound of the pancreas

History

Work on the fabrication of an electronic convex array had started in the late
1970s in the larger Japanese companies such as Hitachi® (publishing their
convex attachment to their EUB-10A scanner in 1978); Aloka® (filing their
patent on the convex scanner in 1980), as well as in U. S. companies notably
the North American Philips® and the Picker Corporation®, who had filed
their patent for convex arrays and processors in 1979 and 1980 respectively.
The first commercially available convex array transducer apparently only
debuted in 1983 in a scanner from Kontron Instruments® in Europe, the
Sigma20, which was designed especially for use in Obstetrics and
Gynecology. Hitachi® in Japan marketed their model EUB-40 with their new
convex array later on in the same year.

Components

The components of an ultrasound transducer include the:

1- Piezoelectric crystal
2- Damping material
3- Electrodes
4- Housing
5- Matching layer
6- Insulating cover
Principles
The convex ultrasound transducer is called the curved transducer
because the piezoelectric crystal arrangement is curvilinear Moreover,
the beam shape is convex and the transducer is good for in-depth
examinations Even though the image resolution decreases when the
depth increases.The footprint (surface from which the ultrasound rays
are emitted), frequency, and applications also depend on whether the
product is for 2D or 3D imaging.Finally, the convex transducer for 2D
imaging has a wide footprint and its central frequency (the frequency
around which the frequency range of the transducer is centered and
not one fixed point frequency) is 2.5MHz – 7.5MHz.The convex
transducer for 3D imaging has a wide field of view and a central
frequency of 3.5MHz – 6.5MHz.You can use it for abdominal
examinations. Curvilinear probes emit the ultrasound beams in the
form of a wave front. This is done by sequentially firing one element
after the other. The ultrasound beam will move at an angle to the line
of the piezoelectric array. Several such beams are used to create a
sector which can be as wide as 90%. Such beams are emitted in rapid
pulses and thus permit the creation of several sequential images as
well as the demonstration of "motion".The major advantage of this
design is that the probes can be used to image even from small
intercostal spaces. Therefore, ultrasound vendors take care to ensure
that the "footprint" of the transducer is as small as possible.The
ultrasound crystals emit a beam which has a certain width (beam
width).The width of the beam should be as narrow as possible. A
narrow beam width improves image resolution. Usually the beam is
focused on a certain region (i.e. near or far field). Like a camera this
allows adjustment of the focus point. The more elements the
transducer has (high scan line density) and the smaller the beam width
is, the better is the "lateral" image resolution. The number of elements
also influences the frame rate.An important fact should be kept in
mind: the smaller a certain sector is, the better is the resolution of the
image because the processing function can be focused on a smaller
region.
Features of the probe
Convex probe
– Low frequency with a wide field of view.
– Greater tissue penetration allows for imaging of deeper structures.
– Ideal for abdominal imaging.
– Typical frequency range is 2–5 MHz
Block diagram