The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 19, 1999
Filed:
Aug. 13, 1998
Jonathan Thierman, Cambridge, MA (US);
Roger W Brockett, Lexington, MA (US);
Nicola J Ferrier, Madison, WI (US);
President and Fellows of Harvard College, Cambridge, MA (US);
Abstract
Surgical probe for use in minimally invasive surgery. The probe includes an elastic membrane tip portion which deforms upon contact with an object. The elastic membrane forms an enclosure containing fluid and an inside surface of the membrane includes a plurality of visible markings such as dots. A CCD camera forms an image of the dots and the image of the dots or a representation of the image of the dots is displayed on a video monitor. The probe also includes an ultrasound transducer which responds to frequency shifts to indicate motion of an object reflecting ultrasound energy. A speaker generates sounds related to the frequency shift as an indication of motion. The probe thus provides information about the surface of an object encountered during a minimally invasive procedure and also about motion of structures within the body.