Medical needle for use in ultrasound imaging and method of enhancing the visibility of such a needle to ultrasound
First Claim
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1. A medical apparatus comprising:
- a) a tubular needle for insertion into body tissue, said needle comprising a stylet and having a bore in communication with said body tissue at a tip region thereof, andb) a sub-ultrasonic transducer for generating a longitudinal oscillation of a fluid column within said bore at a sub-ultrasonic frequency, said transducer being substantially mechanically isolated from said needle and said stylet and said oscillation enhancing the visibility of said tip region to Doppler ultrasound imaging.
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Abstract
A needle inserted into body tissue is rendered visible to a Doppler ultrasound imager by generating a longitudinal oscillation of the fluid column in the needle barrel by means of a transducer which is energized by a signal of frequency 100 Hz to 2 kHz, for example. An image of the needle tip is displayed on a screen.
34 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A medical apparatus comprising:
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a) a tubular needle for insertion into body tissue, said needle comprising a stylet and having a bore in communication with said body tissue at a tip region thereof, and b) a sub-ultrasonic transducer for generating a longitudinal oscillation of a fluid column within said bore at a sub-ultrasonic frequency, said transducer being substantially mechanically isolated from said needle and said stylet and said oscillation enhancing the visibility of said tip region to Doppler ultrasound imaging. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A process for enhancing the visibility to a Doppler ultrasound imager of the tip and/or adjacent tissue of a tubular needle inserted into a human or animal body, said needle comprising a stylet and having a bore in communication with said tissue at a tip region thereof, said process comprising:
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a) insonating at least the region of said needle tip with ultrasound of a first frequency from said Doppler ultrasound imager, and b) generating a longitudinal oscillation of a fluid column within said needle at a second frequency which is lower than said first frequency by means of a transducer which is substantially mechanically isolated from said stylet and said needle. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. A process for enhancing the visibility to a Doppler ultrasound imager of the tissue adjacent a tubular needle inserted into a human or animal body, said needle having a bore in communication with said body tissue at a tip region thereof, said process comprising:
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a) insonating at least said tip region of said needle with ultrasound of a first frequency from a Doppler ultrasound imager, and b) generating a longitudinal oscillation of a fluid column within said needle at a second frequency which is lower than said first frequency by means of a transducer which is elastically coupled to said fluid column. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A medical needle arrangement for insertion into body tissue, the needle arrangement having a proximal end and a distal end and comprising:
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a) a stylet member, and b) an outer tubular member, said stylet member having a diameter less than an inner diameter of the outer tubular member and being housed within and slidable relative to said outer tubular member, a region of a bore of the outer tubular member around said stylet member being for transmitting sub-ultrasonic longitudinal oscillation and said outer tubular member having a port for applying such sub-ultrasonic longitudinal oscillation to said region of said bore.
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19. A medical needle arrangement for insertion into body tissue, the needle arrangement comprising:
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a) a tubular stylet having a proximal end and a distal end and having an exposed aperture at its distal end which communicates with a bore of the tubular stylet, said aperture being located and dimensioned to substantially prevent occlusion of the aperture by body tissue in use, b) an outer tubular member, said tubular stylet being housed within and slidable relative to said outer tubular member, said outer tubular member extending from said proximal end to said distal end; and c) means for connecting said proximal end of said stylet to flexible tubing carrying a sub-ultrasonic longitudinal oscillation. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A medical apparatus comprising:
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a) a tubular stylet for insertion into body tissue, said stylet having a bore in communication with said body tissue at a tip region thereof, and b) a sub-ultrasonic transducer for generating a longitudinal oscillation of a fluid column within said bore at a sub-ultrasonic frequency, said transducer being substantially mechanically isolated from said stylet and said oscillation enhancing the visibility of said tip region to Doppler ultrasound imaging. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification