Physics -- History of Ultrasound Physics and Properties of Transducer

The history of Ultrasound Physics has involved contributions from many professions from a number of countries over hundreds of years. The first developments, dating as far back as 1794, were made by scientists outside the medical profession and were often disconnected from each other. As science progressed and scientists combined these discoveries, the medical profession gradually realized the value of ultrasound for detection, diagnosis and treatment. From the first uses of ultrasound physics with large, clumsy and limited equipment, ultrasound has been so refined that ultrasound can now be accomplished with easily portable equipment at the site of care, far from any hospital or laboratory.

A vital part of these ultrasound developments that is still used today is the transducer, a device that efficiently converts electrical energy into images. Consisting of a sensor and the associated circuitry, the type of...
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