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US 2014/0194744 A1Published application
Ultrasound transducer direction control
AssigneeMuffin Incorporated
InventorsWilliam J. Havel, Peter S. McKinnis, Yun Zhou
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed are embodiments of devices and methods for imaging the inside of a body part, such as a blood vessel. In particular embodiments, a catheter has a chamber within which is a transducer mounted to a pivot mechanism, a motor for turning the transducer, and a coil for providing a pivot force to the transducer. A magnet is attached to the transducer and is receptive of a torque applied by a magnetic field produced by energizing of the coil.
Claims20
A medical device comprising:
- a transducer for transmitting and/or receiving ultrasound signals;
- a motor operatively coupled with a drive shaft, wherein operation of the motor rotates the shaft about a rotation axis;
- a pivot mechanism operatively connected to the shaft, wherein the pivot mechanism rotates in response to rotation of the shaft, the pivot mechanism having a pivot member which is pivotable about at least one pivot axis, the pivot axis being substantially non-parallel to the rotation axis, the pivot member including a magnetic layer and the transducer;
- and
- a coil positioned concentric to and along the rotation axis between the motor and the transducer, wherein the coil includes a plurality of electrically conductive windings, and wherein application of electric current to the coil creates a torque on the pivot member about the pivot axis.
2 more elements
A medical device comprising:
- a transducer for transmitting and/or receiving ultrasound signals;
- a motor operatively coupled with a drive shaft, wherein operation of the motor rotates the shaft about a rotation axis;
- a pivot mechanism operatively connected to the shaft, wherein the pivot mechanism rotates in response to rotation of the shaft, the pivot mechanism having a pivot member which is pivotable about at least one pivot axis, the pivot axis being substantially non-parallel to the rotation axis, the pivot member including a magnetic layer and the transducer;
- a coil positioned concentric to and along the rotation axis between the motor and the transducer, wherein the coil includes a plurality of electrically conductive windings, and wherein application of electric current to the coil creates a torque on the pivot member about the pivot axis;
- and
- a bias member, wherein the bias member is positioned to apply a bias member force to the transducer which biases the transducer to a neutral position about the pivot axis and relative to the pivot mechanism;
- wherein the rotation of the shaft about the rotation axis and the pivoting of the pivot member about the pivot axis are separably operable at one or more frequencies.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.