Regional anesthetic method and apparatus
AssigneeThe Cooper Health System
InventorRobert Hirsh
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method for regional anesthesia using ultrasound to assist in locating the anesthetic needle are disclosed. One or more piezo-electric crystal transducers is placed either at the tip of the needle or near the tip of the needle on a stylet which is inserted into the lumen of the needle. The transducer(s) are pulsed with ultrasonic frequency, the reflected ultrasonic signals from structures are detected and converted into a digital signal and may be displayed in an oscilloscopic format to indicate anatomical structures forward to the needle and allow the medical professional to avoid errors and/or increase efficiency and accuracy. An array of transducers can be pulsed in a phased array fashion to generate a 2D image, or a single transducer can be pulsed to generate a 1D image.
Claims17
A system comprising (A) a needle having a lumen, a length, and a tip, (B) an optional stylet having a length and a tip, the stylet adapted to be inserted into the lumen of the needle, (C) a piezo-electric transducer means, (D) means for keying or pulsing an ultrasound signal from the transducer means, (E) means for detecting reflected ultrasonic signals from structures;
- and (F) means to convert the reflected ultrasonic signals into a digital signal;
- and (G) means to display the digital signal;
- the transducer means located either at the tip of the needle or at the tip of the stylet.
A method of placing a regional anesthetic needle comprising providing piezo-electric transducer means located at or near the tip of the needle, keying or pulsing an ultrasound signal from the transducer means, detecting reflected ultrasonic signals from structures distal to the tip of the needle;
- converting the reflected ultrasonic signals into a digital signal representing anatomical information forward to the needle;
- displaying the digital signal, and guiding the needle to a desired location while preventing the needle from touching an undesired location.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.