Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

Advanced Technology Laboratories, Inc.

Helen Frances Routh

John Douglas Fraser

John Petruzzello

Roy B Peterson

Aline Criton

Shervin Ayati

Marshall T Robinson

Thanasis Loupas

Bruce Adrian Kincy

Aline Laure Criton

Patrick Rene' Pesque

Charles W Powrie, Jr

Daniel C Schmiesing

An ultrasonic diagnostic and therapy system is described for stopping the bleeding of severely damaged blood vessels or vessels severed in a limb amputation. A cuff is attached to the stump of the severed limb which contains a diagnostic transducer array and a HIFU transducer. The diagnostic transducer surveys the tissue of the severed limb, searching for a Doppler flow signal. When a Doppler flow signal is detected, the range to and coordinates of the sample volume where the flow was detected are determined, as well as the flow velocity. This information is supplied to a HIFU therapy transducer controller, which controls the HIFU transducer to transmit focused ultrasound to the sample volume of the flow locus, the center of the lumen of a blood vessel. The focused ultrasound heats and coagulates blood in the severed vessel to stem the bleeding. Heat dissipation due to the blood flow is reduced by tracking and continuously heating the same bolus of blood as it flows, or by heating a significant length of the blood vessel instead of a fixed spot in the vessel.

Method and apparatus for guidance and application of high intensity focused ultrasound for control of bleeding due to severed limbs

An ultrasonic diagnostic and therapy system is described for stopping the bleeding of severely damaged bloodvessels or vessels severed in a limb amputation. A cuff () is attached to the stump of the severed limb which contains a diagnostic transducer array and a HIFU transducer (). The diagnostic transducer surveys the tissue of the severed limb, searching for a Doppler flow signal. When a Doppler flow signal is detected, the range to and coordinates of the sample volume where the flow was detected are determined, as well as the flow velocity. This information is supplied to a HIFU therapy transducer controller, which controls the HIFU transducer to transmit focused ultrasound to the sample volume of the flow locus, the center of the lumen of a blood vessel. The focused ultrasound heats and coagulates blood in the severed vessel to stem the bleeding.

An ultrasonic imaging system uses a specially configured scanhead to provide ultrasound return signals that are processed by an imaging unit to generate a three-dimensional Doppler ultrasound image. One embodiment of the scanhead includes a first pair of apertures aligned along a first axis, and a second pair of apertures aligned along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis. All of the apertures lie in a common plane. Respective signals from the apertures along each axis are processed to generate two-dimensional Doppler motion vectors. The resulting pairs of two-dimensional Doppler motion vectors are then processed to generate three-dimensional Doppler motion vectors that are used to generate a three-dimensional Doppler image. In another embodiment, three co-planar apertures are arranged equidistantly from each other about a common center, and the three-dimensional Doppler image is generated from respective signals from the apertures.

Three-dimensional doppler ultrasonic imaging system and method

An ultrasound system produces an image including a blood vessel. A blood flow direction indicator is displayed over the blood vessel to indicate the direction of blood flow within the vessel. The direction of blood flow is used to correct the Doppler estimate for angle of insonation. The orientation of the blood flow direction indicator is set automatically by a vector processor. The automatically calculated angle is used to display the correct flow velocity without user intervention.

Automatic flow angle correction by ultrasonic vector

An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system and method are described by which a fundamental frequency signal is transmitted into the body and harmonic (nonlinear) echo returns are received from the transmission. The harmonic echo signals are Doppler processed and displayed. The harmonic Doppler signals may be displayed alone, or in combination with a fundamental frequency or harmonic grayscale image. In a preferred embodiment harmonic signals returned from moving tissue are segmented on an intensity or frequency basis and displayed. The inventive apparatus and method provide highly resolved ultrasonic images of moving tissue which are substantially unobscured by image clutter from structures or tissue in the near field.

Ultrasonic harmonic doppler imaging

A technique for continuously determining and displaying the peak velocities of spectral Doppler information is disclosed. A Doppler noise threshold level is determined from operating characteristics of the ultrasound system, probe, or both. Received spectral Doppler data for a spectral line is compared to this threshold to identify a valid peak velocity value. Spectral lines are examined in advance of their display to detect excursions due to artifacts such as valve clicks. Peak velocity values are interpolated and displayed in place of artifact peak values. Individual heart cycles over which quantified measures of cardiovascular performance are computed and displayed are selected by the R-wave intervals of an ECG trace. The interval of the concurrent spectral Doppler display corresponding to the heart cycle interval over which the quantified measures are computed or pertain is automatically highlighted for the user.

Continuous display of cardiac blood flow information

A Doppler signal processor is provided for an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system which identifies the peak and mean flow velocities by Doppler interrogation of a sample volume within the body. The effects of spectral broadening resulting from the use of an array transducer are compensated by producing a peak velocity value which is a function of the dimension of the array aperture and its relation to the location of the sample volume. Mean velocity values calculated from received Doppler echoes are combined with an array distortion function to produce accurate mean velocity values. The entire spectrum may be corrected by deconvolving the received signal spectrum with an array distortion function. Alternatively the effects of spectral broadening are compensated by use of Doppler reference signals for each element of the array which are a function of the position of the individual elements in the array aperture.

Ultrasonic doppler measurement of blood flow velocities by array

A technique for continuously determining and displaying the peak and mean velocities of spectral Doppler information is disclosed. Received spectral Doppler data is examined over a predetermined period to determine the signal to noise ratio of the Doppler signals. Individual instantaneous measurements, or lines, of Doppler spectral information are analyzed in the power versus frequency domain to compare the line information against a noise threshold determined by the signal to noise ratio. The maximum frequency signal component is thereby identified as the peak velocity of the spectral line. Mean velocity is calculated as an intensity weighted mean about the maximum power frequency of the line data. The identified peak and mean velocities are displayed in contrasting colors or shades on a continuously updated and displayed flow velocity versus time spectral display.

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Helen Frances Routh