Method and apparatus for a motorized multi-plane transducer tip

1. Field of the Invention An ultrasonic phased array imaging transducer device is provided which includes a flexible sealing membrane disposed within a housing so as to divide the housing into a wet chamber and a dry chamber. The wet chamber contains a fluid and includes a phased array transducer disposed in the tip end of the housing and oriented so as to provide a sound path extending perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the housing. A motor provides rotation of the transducer while an encoder determines positional information with respect to the transducer. A flexible cable of electrical circuit connections is electrically connected to the transducer and is coiled relative to the transducer so as to permit transducer rotation of more than 180 degrees. The flexible cable extends from the wet chamber through the flexible sealing membrane to the dry chamber. A torque limitation device limits the torque transmitted to the transducer.