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:
Feb. 22, 2005
Filed:
May. 16, 2001
Satoshi Kawata, Osaka, JP;
Tadao Sugiura, Osaka, JP;
Osamu Ohshiro, Nara, JP;
Kunihiro Chihara, Osaka, JP;
Satoshi Kawata, Osaka, JP;
Tadao Sugiura, Osaka, JP;
Osamu Ohshiro, Nara, JP;
Kunihiro Chihara, Osaka, JP;
Japan Science and Technology Corporation, Kawaguchi, JP;
Abstract
An ultrasonic angioscope system which uses an imaging technique of sending ultrasonic waves to a portion ahead of a stricture of a blood vessel and visualizing a portion in the forward direction of the angioscope, and which uses a laser breakdown is provided. The ultrasonic angioscope system includes: a laser generating device () installed outside the human body; a probe () that introduces laser beams () emitted from the laser generating device () into a blood vessel () via an optical fiber (), is set at the tip of the optical fiber (), and has a lens () and a water tank () as a dielectric; ultrasonic-wave generating means that uses a laser breakdown () produced in the water tank (); a plurality of hydrophones () that receive reflected waves, of ultrasonic waves emitted by the laser breakdown (), from a stricture portion () of a blood vessel (), and are disposed at the tip end of the probe (); and means of forming a stricture-shaped image of the stricture portion () based on the signals received from the hydrophones () by a synthetic aperture method.