Tactile ultrasound method and probe for predicting spontaneous preterm birth
AssigneeAdvanced Tactile Imaging Inc.
InventorVladimir Egorov
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cervical probe, equipped with both a tactile sensor array and an ultrasound transducer array, is engineered for the simultaneous acquisition of stress and ultrasound strain data from cervical sectors, as well as for the measurement of cervical length. The collected stress and strain data from various cervical sectors are transmitted to a data processor. This processor calculates cervical elasticity using a strain-to-stress ratio. Subsequently, the arithmetic mean of the stress-to-strain ratios is compared with a predetermined cutoff value, and the measured cervical length is evaluated against another predetermined value, to predict preterm birth during gestational weeks 24-28.
Claims14
A method for predicting spontaneous preterm birth, the method comprising the steps of:
- a) providing a cervix probe with a head equipped with a plurality of tactile sensors and an array of ultrasound transducers having a curved anterior contact surface, said head positioned at an angle to a probe shaft, thereby said probe is configured for a side contact with a cervical anterior surface of a subject such that, when the probe shaft is inserted into a vagina beside a cervix, the curved anterior contact surface is substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of a cervical canal and configured for side contact with the cervical anterior surface from one lateral side thereof across the cervical canal,
- b) inserting said cervix probe into the vagina to contact said cervix anterior surface from one side thereof across the cervical canal,
- c) using said cervix probe to deform said cervix surface from one side thereof and across the cervical canal while simultaneously acquiring cervix surface stress data via said tactile sensors and strain data from B-mode ultrasound images of said cervix,
- d) calculating cervix elasticity as a stress-to-strain ratio and cervix length using said cervix stress data and said ultrasound images of said cervix, and
- e) comparing said stress-to-strain ratio and said cervical length with a respective predetermined stress-to-strain ratio cutoff value and a predetermined cervical length cutoff value to predict spontaneous preterm birth.
A probe for predicting spontaneous preterm birth, said probe comprising:
- a head equipped with a plurality of front-facing tactile sensors and a front-facing array of ultrasound transducers having a curved anterior contact surface, said head is positioned at an angle to a probe shaft, thereby said probe is configured for contact of the curved anterior contact surface carrying the front-facing plurality of tactile sensors and the front-facing array of ultrasound transducers with a cervical anterior surface to facilitate deformation of said cervical anterior surface from one lateral side thereof and across a cervical canal with the curved anterior contact surface being substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the cervical canal,
- said plurality of tactile sensors forming together a pressure sensor array configured to acquire cervix surface stress data and located over at least a portion of said head,
- said ultrasound transducers of the array of ultrasound transducers are positioned adjacent to said plurality of tactile sensors on said head, the ultrasound transducers are configured to emit an ultrasound pulse and to acquire a scattered ultrasound waveforms from said cervix anterior surface for a B-mode ultrasound imaging during cervix deformation by said probe,
- a control unit operably connected to said tactile sensor array for acquiring said stress data and said ultrasound transducers for acquiring said scattered ultrasound waveforms, and
- a data processor operably connected to said control unit and configured for calculating cervix elastic as a stress-to-strain ratio and cervix length using said stress data and said ultrasound waveforms which are used to create the B-mode ultrasound image, and said data processor is further configured to compare the stress-to-strain ratio and cervical length with a respective predetermined stress-to-strain ratio cutoff value and a predetermined cervical length cutoff value to predict spontaneous preterm birth.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.