Case Study: Esaote SpA achieves faster development of higher‑bandwidth, steerable ultrasound transducers with COMSOL Multiphysics

Esaote SpA - Customer Case Study

Esaote SpA, a Florence-based maker of diagnostic ultrasound systems, needed to optimize piezo-disk transducers to increase bandwidth, sensitivity, field of view and steerability while avoiding costly, time‑consuming prototyping. To tackle material complexity (layers as thin as 30 μm) and intricate probe geometry, Esaote used Comsol Multiphysics to simulate the coupled structural‑acoustic behavior of their probes and investigate how materials and manufacturing parameters affect performance.

Using Comsol, Esaote built detailed models including matching layers, backing substrates and a full 5‑MHz 144‑element linear array, and combined finite‑element simulations with KLM equivalent‑circuit design to optimize layer impedances and thicknesses. The simulations agreed closely with measurements (resonance/antiresonance within ~3%; far‑field pressure discrepancies <5% at peak frequencies and <1 dB in amplitude), shortened development from roughly a year of prototyping to about one month, and delivered improved bandwidth, steering and reduced prototype costs.

Esaote SpA

Marco Cati

R&D Department