Method of measuring regional tissue blood flow
First Claim
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1. A method of measuring blood flow through the tissue in a region of interest, comprising the following steps:
- (a) injecting an ultrasonic tracer substance into the blood upstream of the region of interest and also upstream of a specified reference region;
(b) subjecting the region of interest and the specified reference region to ultrasonic waves;
(c) simultaneously detecting the echo intensity at the region of interest and the reference region at the same phase of a series of successive heartbeats, to produce echo intensity values as a function of time for the region of interest and for the reference region;
(d) measuring the mean background value in each region before the injection, and subtracting the mean background values from the detected echo intensity values at both regions to produce a measurement of the tracer-produced echo intensity functions;
(e) utilizing said latter echo intensity functions to compute;
(i) the mean transit time of the tracer through the region of interest; and
(ii) the blood volume within the region of interest;
(f) dividing the results of (e) (ii) by (e) (i) to produce a quantitative measurement of the blood flow through the tissue in the region of interest.
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Abstract
A method of measuring blood flow through tissue in a region of interest including the steps: injecting an ultrasonic tracer into the blood upstream of the region of interest and also upstream of a specified reference region; utilizing the tracer-produced echo intensity function to compute: (i) the mean transit time of the tracer through the region of interest; and (ii) the blood volume within the region of interest; and dividing the results of computation (ii) by computation (i) to produce a quantitative measurement of the blood flow through the tissue in the region of interest.
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10 Claims
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1. A method of measuring blood flow through the tissue in a region of interest, comprising the following steps:
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(a) injecting an ultrasonic tracer substance into the blood upstream of the region of interest and also upstream of a specified reference region; (b) subjecting the region of interest and the specified reference region to ultrasonic waves; (c) simultaneously detecting the echo intensity at the region of interest and the reference region at the same phase of a series of successive heartbeats, to produce echo intensity values as a function of time for the region of interest and for the reference region; (d) measuring the mean background value in each region before the injection, and subtracting the mean background values from the detected echo intensity values at both regions to produce a measurement of the tracer-produced echo intensity functions; (e) utilizing said latter echo intensity functions to compute;
(i) the mean transit time of the tracer through the region of interest; and
(ii) the blood volume within the region of interest;(f) dividing the results of (e) (ii) by (e) (i) to produce a quantitative measurement of the blood flow through the tissue in the region of interest. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of measuring blood flow through the tissue in a region of interest, comprising the steps:
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(a) injecting an ultrasonic tracer substance into the blood upstream of the region of interest and also upstream of a specified reference region; (b) subjecting the region of interest and the specified reference region to two-dimensional ultrasonic imaging, and processing the acquired images to produce a regional video intensity independent of tracer concentration in the surrounding region; (c) simultaneously detecting the echo intensity at the region of interest and the reference region at the same phase of a series of successive heartbeats, to produce echo intensity values as a function of time for the region of interest and for the reference region; (d) measuring the mean background value in each region before the injection, and subtracting the mean background values from the detected echo intensity values at both regions to produce a measurement of the tracer-produced echo intensity functions; (e) utilizing said measurement to compute;
(i) the mean transit time of the tracer through the region of interest; and
(ii) the blood volume within the region of interest;(f) dividing the results of (e) (ii) by (e) (i) to produce a quantitative measurement of the blood flow through the tissue in the region of interest. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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Specification