Rotational intravascular ultrasound probe and method of manufacturing same
AssigneePhilips Image Guided Therapy Corporation
InventorsStephen Charles Davies, Norman H. Hossack, Peter Smith
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rotational intravascular ultrasound probe for insertion into a vasculature and a method of manufacturing the same. The rotational intravascular ultrasound probe comprises an elongate catheter having a flexible body and an elongate transducer shaft disposed within the flexible body. The transducer shaft comprises a proximal end portion, a distal end portion, a drive shaft extending from the proximal end portion to the distal end portion, an ultrasonic transducer disposed near the distal end portion for obtaining a circumferential image through rotation, and a transducer housing molded to the drive shaft and the ultrasonic transducer.
Claims14
A rotational intravascular ultrasound probe, comprising:
- a catheter configured to be positioned within a blood vessel of a patient;
- a drive cable disposed within the catheter and configured to rotate, wherein the drive cable comprises a longitudinal axis, a proximal portion, and a distal portion;
- a housing comprising a proximal portion and a distal portion, wherein the proximal portion of the housing is attached to the distal portion of the drive cable;
- and
- a stack of layers disposed within the housing at a location distal to where the proximal portion of the housing is attached to the distal portion of the drive cable,
- wherein the stack of layers extends in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis,
- wherein the stack of layers comprises an ultrasonic transducer configured to obtain a circumferential image of the blood vessel,
- wherein the housing and the stack of layers are configured to rotate during rotation of the drive cable,
- wherein a bottom layer of the stack of layers is adjacent to the housing,
- wherein the bottom layer comprises a front surface and an opposite, back surface that are defined in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, and
- wherein the housing directly physically contacts the back surface of the bottom layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.