Device for determining a suitable location for catheterized delivery of medications

Abstract

An apparatus and method for determining a suitable location for catheterized delivery or infusion of medication are disclosed. The apparatus includes a probe having a rod coupled to a transducer. The transducer introduces an acoustic or incident wave into the rod. The wave travels through the rod to a tissue in a patient's mouth about the end of the rod, and at least part of the wave is reflected by the tissue back into the rod towards the transducer. The reflected wave contains information relating to the structure of the tissue beneath the probe's tip. The differences between successive oral readings are used to distinguish between different regions of tissue (e.g. containing bone tissue, tooth, ligament, etc.) and/or is used to analyze the density of a particular region, for finding a suitable location for inserting a drill/catheter.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.