Male impotence diagnostic ultrasound system
First Claim
1. An apparatus for measuring blood velocity in a cavernosal artery of a male penis, the apparatus comprising:
- at least one transducer for transmitting/receiving energy and reading corresponding Doppler effect to detect blood velocity in the cavernosal artery both when the penis is in an erect state and when the penis is in a flaccid state;
a substantially rigid transducer support housing for supporting the at least one transducer in a substantially fixed orientation with respect to the penis as the at least one transducer measures blood velocity in the cavernosal artery, the at least one transducer being adjustable with respect to the transducer support housing; and
a fixing device, mechanically coupled to the transducer support housing, to substantially mechanically fix the transducer support housing in place with respect to the penis and hold the at least one transducer in a substantially constant angular orientation with respect to the cavernosal artery during a measurement procedure, the fixing device being constructed to accommodate the changing size of the penis between the erect and flaccid states such that the at least one transducer remains aligned with the cavernosal artery as the diameter of the penis changes.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for diagnosing male impotence by measuring blood velocity in a cavernosal artery of a male penis includes at least one transducer for transmitting/receiving energy and reading corresponding Doppler effect to detect blood velocity in the cavernosal artery, a transducer housing for supporting the transducer in a substantially fixed orientation with respect to the penis as the transducer measures blood velocity in the cavernosal artery, and a fixing device, mechanically coupled to the transducer housing, to substantially mechanically fix the transducer housing in place with respect to the penis and hold the at least one transducer in a substantially constant angular orientation with respect to the cavernosal artery during an impotence diagnostic procedure. Corresponding methods are also disclosed.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. An apparatus for measuring blood velocity in a cavernosal artery of a male penis, the apparatus comprising:
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at least one transducer for transmitting/receiving energy and reading corresponding Doppler effect to detect blood velocity in the cavernosal artery both when the penis is in an erect state and when the penis is in a flaccid state;
a substantially rigid transducer support housing for supporting the at least one transducer in a substantially fixed orientation with respect to the penis as the at least one transducer measures blood velocity in the cavernosal artery, the at least one transducer being adjustable with respect to the transducer support housing; and
a fixing device, mechanically coupled to the transducer support housing, to substantially mechanically fix the transducer support housing in place with respect to the penis and hold the at least one transducer in a substantially constant angular orientation with respect to the cavernosal artery during a measurement procedure, the fixing device being constructed to accommodate the changing size of the penis between the erect and flaccid states such that the at least one transducer remains aligned with the cavernosal artery as the diameter of the penis changes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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17. A method of diagnosing male impotence, comprising:
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placing at least one transducer into contact with the penis, the at least one transducer being supported by a transducer housing;
fixing the transducer housing and the at least one transducer in place on the penis with a fixing device, such that the angular orientation of the at least one transducer with respect to the penis is maintained substantially fixed;
holding the penis substantially in place with a pressure balloon mechanism; and
measuring blood flow velocity in the penis using the energy transmitted and received by the at least one transducer. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of diagnosing male impotence, comprising:
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(a) measuring blood flow velocity in at least one cavernosal artery in the penis;
(b) subsequently introducing a vasodilating agent to the penis to induce an erectile response;
(c) continuously measuring blood flow velocity in the at least one cavernosal artery over a time period after introduction of the vasodilating agent; and
(d) continuously measuring the diameter of the penis over the time period of step (c); and
(e) simultaneously displaying graphical representations of blood flow velocity data and penis diameter data over the time period of step (c).
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22. An apparatus for measuring blood velocity in at least one blood vessel of a patient, the blood vessel being contained within a surrounding anatomical structure;
- the apparatus comprising;
at least one transducer for transmitting/receiving energy and reading corresponding Doppler effect to detect blood velocity in the at least one blood vessel;
a transducer housing for supporting the at least one transducer in a substantially fixed orientation with respect to the anatomical structure as the at least one transducer detects blood velocity the transducer housing defining two distal legs and a bend circumferentially therebetween to substantially conform to the outer circumference of the anatomical structure, the transducer housing being out of physical contact with the at least one blood vessel; and
a fixing device, mechanically coupled to the transducer housing, to substantially mechanically fix the transducer housing in place on the anatomical structure and hold the at least one transducer in a substantially constant angular orientation with respect to the at least one blood vessel. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
- the apparatus comprising;
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29. An apparatus for diagnosing male impotence by measuring blood velocity in a cavernosal artery of a male penis, the apparatus comprising:
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at least one transducer for transmitting/receiving energy and reading corresponding Doppler effect to detect blood velocity in the cavernosal artery, the at least one transducer also being constructed to transmit/receive energy to detect a diameter value related to the penis;
a transducer housing for supporting the at least one transducer in a substantially fixed orientation with respect to the penis as the at least one transducer measures blood velocity in the cavernosal artery;
a fixing device, mechanically coupled to the transducer housing, to substantially mechanically fix the transducer housing in place with respect to the penis and hold the at least one transducer in a substantially constant angular orientation with respect to the cavernosal artery during an impotence diagnostic procedure; and
a display, operably coupled with the at least one transducer, for displaying the diameter value and the blood velocity. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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31. An apparatus for measuring blood velocity in a cavernosal artery of a male penis, the apparatus comprising:
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at least one transducer for transmitting/receiving energy and reading corresponding Doppler effect to detect blood velocity in the cavernosal artery both when the penis is in an erect state and when the penis is in a flaccid state;
a transducer housing for supporting the at least one transducer in a substantially fixed orientation with respect to the penis as the at least one transducer measures blood velocity in the cavernosal artery; and
a fixing device, mechanically coupled to the transducer housing, to substantially mechanically fix the transducer housing in place with respect to the penis and hold the at least one transducer in a substantially constant angular orientation with respect to the cavernosal artery during a measurement procedure, the fixing device being constructed to accommodate the changing size of the penis between the erect and flaccid states such that the at least one transducer remains aligned with the cavernosal artery as the size of the penis changes;
wherein the at least one transducer comprises at least two transducers, further wherein the at least two transducers are shiftable relative to each other to aim the transmitted/received energy to a desired location;
further wherein each transducer is supported by a subhousing, each subhousing being slideably supported by the transducer housing, each transducer and respective transducer subhousing being shiftable relative to the transducer housing to aim the transmitted/received energy to a desired location.
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32. An apparatus for measuring blood velocity in a cavernosal artery of a male penis, the apparatus comprising:
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at least one transducer for transmitting/receiving energy and reading corresponding Doppler effect to detect blood velocity in the cavernosal artery both when the penis is in an erect state and when the penis is in a flaccid state;
a transducer housing for supporting the at least one transducer in a substantially fixed orientation with respect to the penis as the at least one transducer means measures blood velocity in the cavernosal artery, the at least one transducer being shiftable along the transducer housing to aim the transmitted/received energy to a desired location; and
a fixing device, mechanically coupled to the transducer housing, to substantially mechanically fix the transducer housing in place with respect to the penis and hold the at least one transducer in a substantially constant angular orientation with respect to the cavernosal artery during a measurement procedure, the fixing device being constructed to accommodate the changing size of the penis between the erect and flaccid states such that the at least one transducer remains aligned with the cavernosal artery as the size of the penis changes.
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Specification