Loop imaging catheter
US6162179A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 8, 1998 |
| Grant date | Dec 19, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 8, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B8/4472
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An ultrasonic imaging catheter is used to generate a three-dimensional image of an organ having a relatively large cavity, such as, e.g., a heart. The catheter includes an elongate catheter body having an acoustic window formed at its distal end. The catheter further includes an imaging core, which includes a drive cable with a distally mounted ultrasonic transducer. The transducer is disposed in the acoustic window and is rotationally and longitudinally translatable relative thereto, providing the catheter with longitudinal scanning capability. The catheter further includes a pull wire, which is connected to the distal end of the catheter body, such that longitudinal displacement of the pull wire causes the acoustic window to bend into a known and repeatable arc. The catheter can then be operated to generate a longitudinal scan of the organ through the arc, i.e., a multitude of cross-sectional imaging data slices are generated along a continuously varying multitude of imaging planes, which intersect all regions of the body organ. In this manner, a three-dimensional image depicting the entire body organ can be generated from a single longitudinal scan.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.