Importance

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Abstract

An intracavity ultrasound diagnostic probe has a fiber acoustic waveguide that guides acoustic signals generated by a piezoelectric transducer located outside the body, through a body cavity and to an imaging site within the body where they reflect back into the ultrasound diagnostic probe that guides them back to the piezoelectric transducer located at the proximal end of the waveguide. The intracavity ultrasound diagnostic probe has one or more acoustic waveguides that could be optical fibers. The numerous advantages of placing the piezoelectric transducer outside the body include: electric power does not enter the body; a reusable piezoelectric transducer; the ability to use several acoustic signals at once including a mixture of doppler and imaging acoustic signals; the ability to adjust the frequency of each acoustic signal independently of the other acoustic signals to obtain the most desirable focus and resolution for a particular imaging site; and lower cost of complying with sterility regulations since they require discarding only the inexpensive fiber acoustic waveguide and the inexpensive catheter-radome.

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First Claim