Method and apparatus for ultrasonically detecting, counting and/or characterizing emboli
US5348015A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 17, 1992 |
| Grant date | Sep 20, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 17, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B8/488
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
This disclosure relates to a noninvasive means for detecting, counting and characterizing emboli moving through the arterial or venous circulation. An ultrasonic transducer is applied to the skin or other tissues of the subject at sites such as over the temporal bone on either side of the head of the subject, on the neck, on the chest, the abdomen, arm, leg, within the esophagus, or surgically exposed organs or blood vessels. Using standard ultrasonic Doppler techniques, Doppler-shifted signals are located which are proportional to the blood flow velocity in the blood vessel(s) of interest. Spectral analysis is performed on the received signal using the fast Fourier transform or other appropriate technique to determine the frequency components in the Doppler shift spectrum. Further analysis of the spectra is used to delineate and characterize Doppler shift signals due to blood from Doppler shift signals due to emboli having a variety of compositions.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.