Ultrasound System for Cerebral Blood Flow Imaging and Microbubble-Enhanced Blood Clot Lysis
AssigneeKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
InventorsWendy Swan, Jeffry Powers
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Abstract
An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system is described which utilizes one or more transducer arrays affixed to the head of a patient to diagnose and treat stroke victims. The transducer headset produces a two or three dimensional image of the vasculature inside the cranium, preferably assisted by a microbubble contrast agent. A vascular flow map is produced by the system which may be diagnosed for signs of a blood clot. If a blood clot is detected, a therapeutic beam is transmitted while the contrast agent is present to break up the blood clot by the disruption of microbubbles. The headset may also be used in a monitoring application to detect the recurrence of blood clots in a stroke victim.
Claims20
A stroke therapy system for treating cranial vascular obstructions comprising:
- a transducer array headset which maintains an ultrasonic transducer array in acoustic contact with the head of a subject;
- an image processor, coupled to the ultrasonic transducer array, which produces images of blood flow in the cranium of the subject;
- and
- an image display, coupled to the image processor, which produces an image of the cranial vasculature.
A stroke therapy system for treating cranial vascular obstructions comprising:
- a transducer array headset which maintains an ultrasonic transducer array in acoustic contact with the head of a subject;
- an image processor, coupled to the ultrasonic transducer array, which produces images of blood flow in the cranium of the subject;
- an image display, coupled to the image processor, which produces an image of the cranial vasculature;
- a transmitter, coupled to the transducer array, which acts to cause the ultrasonic transducer array to transmit a therapeutic beam,
- wherein imaging and delivery of the therapeutic beam are done by a common ultrasonic transducer array.
A method for treating stroke comprising:
- applying a headset containing first and second transducer arrays to the head of a subject with the transducer arrays in acoustic contact with opposite sides of the head;
- producing an ultrasound image of cranial flow from signals received from at least one of the transducer arrays;
- securing the headset to maintain the transducer arrays in acoustic contact with the head;
- infusing the blood stream of the subject with microbubbles;
- and
- producing an ultrasound image of cranial flow containing microbubbles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.