A multiwire saw for the production of ultrasound transducers

Ultrasound echography is an important tool in medical diagnostics, e.g. in cardiology, gynaecology and radiology. A very important part of ultrasound equipment is the transducer, which consists of many separate electrical and mechanical elements (up to 600) at a mutual distance of 0.2 mm. A multiwire saw is described which is capable of separating up to 600 acoustic elements over a 120 mm range in one go. The saw itself automatically controls all kinds of sawing parameters such as wire tension, wire speed, etc., in order to minimise wire breakage and to optimise sawing results. With this saw the production costs are low, small forces are exercised on the product, hardly any heat is produced, the sawing groove is very smooth and no limitation exists as to the sawing depth. The developed multiwire saw has proven to be very useful for manufacturing experimental ultrasound transducers such as linear arrays, phased arrays and transoesophageal phased arrays. Other applications, especially when a deep sawing groove is needed or when the forces exercised must be kept minimal, are also possible.