Ultrasonic medical device and associated method

• US 7,597,665 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2003
• Issued: 10/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Peter J. Wilk, Peter Weber, Timothy J. Nohara
• Original Assignee: Peter J. Wilk, Peter Weber, Timothy J. Nohara
• Inventors: Wilk, Peter J., Nohara, Timothy J., Weber, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Long V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cheng, Jacqueline
• Application Number:
  US10/663,084
• Publication Number:
  US 20050020918A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,212 Days
• Field of Search: 600/437, 600/443, 600/459
• US Class Current: 600/459
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/3403 Needle locating or guiding means guides for suture needles A61B17/0482; guiding or tracking by nuclear magnetic resonance G01R33/285
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/3413 guided by ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/3492 against the outside of the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/378 using ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/10 Computer-aided planning, simulation or modelling of surgical operations
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6804 Garments; Clothes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/00 Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves imaging of objects using sonar G01S15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/08 Detecting organic movements or changes, e.g. tumours, cysts, swellings A61B8/02 - A61B8/06 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/13 Tomography A61B8/10, A61B8/12 take precedence; tomography for radiation diagnosis A61B6/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4227 characterised by straps, belts, cuffs or braces
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4281 characterised by sound-transmitting media or devices for coupling the transducer to the tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4494 characterised by the arrangement of the transducer elements devices for short-range imaging using particular transducer elements arrangements under G01S15/8909; arrangements of transducers in generation of mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic or ultrasonic frequency B06B1/0607
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/483 involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/916 Ultrasound 3-D imaging

Abstract

A medical system includes a multiplicity of electromechanical transducers disposable in effective pressure-wave-transmitting contact with a patient and mounted to a carrier. Energization componentry is operatively connected to a first plurality of the transducers for supplying the same with electrical signals to produce first pressure waves in the patient. A control unit is operatively connected to the energization componentry and includes an electronic analyzer operatively connected to a second plurality of the transducers for performing electronic 3D volumetric data acquisition and imaging of internal tissue structures. The control unit includes phased-array signal processing circuitry for effectuating an electronic scanning of the internal tissue structures which facilitates one-dimensional, 2D, and 3D data acquisition and circuitry for defining multiple data gathering apertures and for coherently combining structural data from the respective apertures to increase spatial resolution. When the instantaneous positions of the data gathering apertures are unknown, a self-cohering algorithm is used to determine their positions so that coherent aperture combining can be performed.

Claims

1. A medical system comprising:

a carrier;

a multiplicity of electromechanical transducers mounted to said carrier;

energization componentry operatively connected to a first plurality of said transducers for supplying same with electrical signals of at least one pre-established ultrasonic frequency to produce first pressure waves in the patient; and

a control unit operatively connected to said energization componentry for operating same to produce said first pressure waves in the patient, said control unit including an electronic analyzer operatively connected to a second plurality of said transducers for performing electronic 3D volumetric data acquisition and imaging of internal tissues of the patient by analyzing signals generated by said second plurality of said transducers in response to second pressure waves produced at internal tissues of the patient in response to said first pressure waves, said control unit being operatively connected to said second plurality of said transducers to gather and organize data from said second plurality of said transducers so that said second plurality of transducers define a plurality of data gathering apertures, said control unit including circuitry for coherent aperture combining to coherently combine structural data from the respective apertures,

said carrier including a plurality of rigid substrates each disposable in pressure-wave transmitting contact with the patient, each of said substrates carrying a respective plurality of transducers, each of said substrates carrying at least one of said second plurality of said transducers so that each of said substrates represents a respective one of said data gathering apertures,

said substrates being movably connected to one another, said circuitry including position determination or calibration componentry determining relative positions and orientations of said substrates relative to one another for use in the coherent aperture combining, said position determination or calibration componentry including a multiplicity of point scatterers, said position determination or calibration componentry further including programmed componentry operatively connected to said energization means for periodically scanning said point scatterers with first ultrasonic pressure waves and calculating instantaneous positions of said point scatterers as scanned by each of said substrates using second ultrasonic pressure waves produced at said point scatterers in response to said first ultrasonic pressure waves.

2. The system defined in claim 1 wherein said electronic analyzer includes circuit components for sampling data from said second plurality of said transducers so that at least some of said transducers form a plurality of data gathering apertures, said control unit including coherent aperture combining circuitry for coherently combining structural data from the respective apertures, said position determination or calibration componentry including circuitry for executing a self-cohering algorithm (a) computing relative positions and orientations of said substrates using instantaneous position measurements and (b) adjusting signals from coherently combined apertures to enable constructive addition of said signals from said coherently combined apertures.

3. The system defined in claim 1 wherein said position determination or calibration componentry includes a programmed electronic device executing computations according to a self-cohering algorithm.

4. The system defined in claim 1 wherein said position determination or calibration componentry includes programmed componentry operatively connected to said energization means for periodically energizing at some of said transducers with at least one predetermined electrical frequency and calculating instantaneous positions of the transducers so energized.

5. The system defined in claim 1, further comprising at least one display operatively connected to said analyzer for providing an image of said internal tissue structures of the patient.

6. The system defined in claim 1 wherein said substrates are connected to one another via a flexible linkage so that said substrates are extendable at a variable angle with respect to one another.