Development of a new ultrasonic circular array for endoscopic application in medicine and NDT

The authors describe a novel ultrasonic array for endoscopic application in medicine and NDT (nondestructive testing). This device is a circular array and consists of 100 strip elements. The diameter of this array is 10 mm, and the frequency is about 5.0 MHz. With this circular array the sound beam can be steered 360 degrees , and radarlike pictures obtained. The mathematical algorithm, and monochromatic and broadband calculations of the sound field are given. In addition, the manufacturing process is discussed. It is noted that this probe is applicable for medical rectal and esophageal diagnoses or NDT tube inspection. >