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Medical acoustic imaging

  • US 5,454,373 A
  • Filed: 07/20/1994
  • Issued: 10/03/1995
  • Est. Priority Date: 07/20/1994
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. An ultrasound imaging device comprising a stationary, elongated flexible tubular body, a rotatable drive shaft extending through said body, and a rotatable nose member located distally of said tubular body, said rotatable nose member being mounted on the distal end of said drive shaft to rotate therewith, and an acoustic imaging instrument incorporated in said rotatable nose member for producing acoustic images of adjacent tissue as said drive shaft turns, said nose member having a rotatable outer surface directly covered with a bio-compatible, lubricous coating of hydrophilic material sufficient to shield and space said outer surface of said nose member from said adjacent tissue as said outer surface rotates with respect to said elongated flexible tubular body, said coating having sufficient thickness to avoid puncturing of a wall of a blood vessel by said nose member while said nose member rotates within said blood vessel sufficiently close to said wall to enable puncturing if said coating were absent.

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