Other

Interspec, Inc.

Ronald E Hileman

Daniel E Cooper

Donald E Dick

David A Stump

Brian Wall

A method and apparatus for ultrasonically detecting an embolus in blood flow includes an ultrasound transducer for transmitting ultrasound pulses into the blood flow being interrogated and receiving reflections from acoustic impedance changes in the body. The reflected signals are converted to an electronic signal representation which is subsequently processed to detect and classify emboli in the blood flow. A short duration, broad bandwidth ultrasound signal is used to preserve the polarity of the reflected signal. The polarity is then used to classify the emboli based on a positive or negative reflection coefficient. Emboli having a negative reflection coefficient are classified as either gaseous or fat particles, and emboli having a positive reflection coefficient are classified as solid particles. The emboli can be further classified based on the amplitude of the reflected signal, or designated features of the time waveform or FFT of the reflected signal.

Method and apparatus for the non-invasive detection and classification

An ultrasonic probe assembly in which the disposition of the scan plane of an ultrasonic transducer unit, introduced into a human body, can be selected to image a body part in different ways. The scan plane is selected by operation of a remote control unit by which the ultrasonic array is moved. The ultrasonic array is connected to a base unit by means of a flexible coupling and is steered by the action of cables which are controlled by the remote control unit.

Ultrasonic probe assembly

A method and apparatus for determining fluid motion of a fluid through a conduit whereby the signal pulse repetition frequency of a pulsed Doppler is increased significantly over known systems and the receiving means for the reflected signals is kept activated for essentially the entire time that the transmitting means is inactive so that a Doppler shift of less than one-half the signal repetition frequency is produced and frequency aliasing is avoided. The same transducer can be utilized to transmit and receive signals and detect high Doppler shifts, thus functioning similarly to continuous wave Doppler systems using separate transmit and receive transducers.

Doppler method and apparatus for measuring fluid motion

A scan converter storage surface is divided into image spaces corresponding to different points in the heart cycle. Ultrasound echoes from heart structures are plotted in the image spaces by means of special x, y sweeps which are offset to the image spaces by timing circuitry. Separate delay and spacing counters allow the first image to be stored at one interval after detection of the ECG R-wave and successive images to be stored at a another uniform interval. An ECG trace is stored in the first image space with cursors indicating the selected image timing. The scan converter is read out to a TV display. During image build-up, the read and write modes alternate. If desired, the TV sweeps to the scan converter may be attenuated and offset to display a single stored image. Images displayed in sequence provide animation. A self test circuit substitutes a fake ECG and writes bars in the scan converter image spaces using TV sweeps for the scan sweeps. The timing circuitry for the normal images gates the video for the bars. All of the timing for the system is derived from a TV composite sync signal and the patient's ECG current.

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Lewistown, PA, United States of America

Ronald E Hileman