US Patent 9393597 Curved ultrasonic HIFU transducer formed by tiled segments

A curved high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) transducer comprising a plurality of curved composite ceramic piezoelectric tiles having opposite convex and concave surfaces, each tile having electrodes on the surfaces electrically coupled to the composite ceramic piezoelectric material, and a plurality of acoustic transmission areas located on each tile and actuated through electrodes on the convex surface, the transmission areas and electrodes being acoustically separated from surrounding areas by cuts into the composite ceramic piezoelectric material, the plurality of tiles fitting together to form a substantially continuous curved composite piezoelectric surface which transmits HIFU acoustic energy.