Intracardiac echocardiography catheters, systems, and methods of use and manufacture
AssigneeBeluga Medical Inc.
InventorsAlan Schaer, Todor Jeliaskov, Jerry Hopple
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Abstract
The present technology includes intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) systems and methods for enabling physicians to visualize heart anatomy and structure from within a patient's heart. For example, some embodiments described herein include ICE catheters with constructions for improved performance and ease of use. As another example, some embodiments described herein include ICE ultrasound assemblies expected to improve the imaging abilities of ICE systems, reduce clutter at or near an operating room table, and/or reduce the demand on healthcare resources.
Claims20
An intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) system, the system comprising:
- an ICE catheter, the ICE catheter including—
- a proximal end region having a handle,
- a distal end region having a transducer, and
- a shaft extending between the proximal end region and the distal end region, wherein the shaft has a diameter of between about 6 French and about 14 French;
- and
- an ultrasound assembly, the ultrasound assembly including—
- a first housing,
- an analog-front-end positioned within the first housing,
- a connection assembly extending from and/or configured to be coupled to the first housing to operably couple the analog-front-end to the handle, wherein the connection assembly has a length of less than about 2 meters,
- a second housing different than the first housing,
- an image processing unit positioned within the second housing, and
- a cable configured to couple the first housing to the second housing to operably couple the analog-front-end and the image processing unit,
- wherein the analog-front-end is configured to (a) transmit first electrical signals to the transducer via the connection assembly and the shaft for conversion into acoustic waves, (b) receive second electrical signals from the transducer via the shaft and the connection assembly, (c) digitize the received second electrical signals, and (d) transmit the digitized second electrical signals to the image processing unit via the cable, and
- wherein the image processing unit is configured to process the digitized second electrical signals.
A method of performing intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) on a patient using an ICE system having an ICE catheter and an ICE ultrasound assembly including a first housing and a second housing, the method comprising:
- transmitting a digitized control signal from the second housing of the ICE catheter to the first housing of the ICE catheter via a cable;
- based on the digitized control signal, generating a first analog signal via an analog front end positioned within the first housing;
- transmitting the first analog signal from the first housing to the ICE catheter via a connection assembly having a length of less than about 2 meters;
- in response to transmitting the first analog signal, receiving a second analog signal at the analog front end of the first housing, wherein the second analog signal is received from the ICE catheter via the connection assembly, and wherein the second analog signal is transmitted a total distance of less than about 5 meters;
- digitizing the second analog signal within the first housing to produce a digitized return signal;
- transmitting the digitized return signal to the second housing;
- and
- processing the digitized return signal via an image processing unit within the second housing to produce a two- or three-dimensional image based on the digitized return signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.