Conformable body patches for ultrasound applications

Abstract

There is a growing interest for the application of CMUT ultrasound transducers in applications other than traditional diagnostic imaging. Many of them require large area ultrasound transducers which need to be in close contact with parts of the body. Depending on the body area, these transducers therefore need to have some degree of stretchability in order to conform to the curvature of the human body. For the fabrication of these stretchable transducers, the total transducer is sub divided into separate small rigid tiles that are electrically interconnected, and embedded in a stretchable polymer. The EPlaR release process offers an industrial manufacturing platform for these devices.