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. 24, 2015
Filed:
Feb. 08, 2012
Lex J. Garbini, El Granada, CA (US);
Wilko Gerwin Wilkening, Mountain View, CA (US);
Ricardo Espinosa, Mountain House, CA (US);
Lex J. Garbini, El Granada, CA (US);
Wilko Gerwin Wilkening, Mountain View, CA (US);
Ricardo Espinosa, Mountain House, CA (US);
Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., Malvern, PA (US);
Abstract
A catheter is provided for medical ultrasound imaging that can be effectively used in combination with other imaging modalities to detect medical structures of interest as well as the catheter. Markers are added to the catheter which allow more precise location identification of the catheter in the merging of the images from different modalities. Using a template, apertures for marker placement are formed in the catheter after creating the catheter housing. The ultrasound array may be used for accurate positioning of the template. Alternatively or additionally, a rigid insert with markers connects with the array. The insert holds the markers in place and may reduce artifacts in ultrasound scanning due to flexing of the array.