Method and device for localizing a vein within a limb
AssigneeTheraclion SA
InventorsMichel Nuta, Jérémie Anquez, Anthony Grisey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of localizing and preferably visualizing a vein within a limb, preferably within a leg, of a patient, with an imaging device. The method includes the following steps of: fully or partially collapsing at least a segment of the vein to be localized at a collapsing site during a collapsing step; inducing blood flow within the vein at the collapsing site, while the segment of the vein is fully or partially collapsed, during a pumping step; and visualizing the collapsing site with the imaging device in an imaging step, at least during the pumping step.
Claims11
A method of localizing a vein within a limb of a patient, with a B-mode ultrasound imaging device with a main ultrasound propagation axis, the method comprising the following steps:
- a. collapsing at least a segment of the vein to be targeted at a collapsing site during a collapsing step such as to stop blood flow, such that the segment of the vein becomes invisible by B-mode imaging;
- b. imaging the collapsing site with the imaging device during an imaging step;
- c. changing at least one of the position and orientation of the imaging device until a portion of the collapsed vein, corresponding to a wall of the collapsed vein segment, becomes visible while the segment of the vein is collapsed, in a detecting step.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.