Transducer positioning system

An endoscopic ultrasound probe for use with remote ultrasound imaging electronics in transesophageal echo cardiography comprising:

• a substantially planar rotatable transducer array within the distal end of said probe having a scan plane which is perpendicular to a plane of the array and which corresponds to a position of the array;
• a cable for connecting the array with the remote ultrasound imaging electronics;
• a drive mechanism for rotating the array about an axis perpendicular to said plane of the array to provide a plurality of positions corresponding to a plurality of scan planes for obtaining a corresponding plurality of two-dimensional cross-sectional images;
• and
• a position feedback mechanism coupled to the array for providing the ultrasound imaging electronics with array position data corresponding the plurality of positions of the array associated with the corresponding plurality of two-dimensional cross-sectional images.

An ultrasound imaging system comprising:

• a transesophageal ultrasound probe comprised of a rotatable transducer array having a plurality of transducer elements arranged in a plane, the array having a scan plane perpendicular to the plane of the transducer elements and corresponding to an angular position of the array;
• an electric motor for rotating the array to achieve a plurality of angular positions;
• a position feedback mechanism coupled to the array capable of providing array position data corresponding to the plurality of angular positions;
• and
• ultrasound imaging electronics coupled to the probe by a flexible drive shaft and comprising a controller which is synchronized to a particular time in a subject's electrocardiogram cycle, the controller being coupled to the motor for actuating rotation of the array and being coupled to the position feedback mechanism for recieving the array position data in response to rotation of the array, wherein the controller periodically actuates the motor to rotate the array to achieve a plurality of angular positions for obtaining two-dimensional images along a corresponding plurality of scan planes at the particular time in the subject's electrocardiogram cycle and wherein controller correlates the obtained two-dimensional images along with the position data received from the position feedback mechanism in constructing a three-dimensional image associated with that particular time.

A method for rotating a transducer array supported in an endoscopic ultrasound probe comprising:

• providing a rotatable substantially planar transducer array within the distal end of said probe having a scan plane perpendicular to a plane of the array and which corresponds to a position of the array, remote ultrasound imaging electronics for producing a two-dimensional cross-sectional image corresponding to a particular scan plane of the array, a motor coupled to the array by a flexible drive shaft and a position feedback mechanism coupled to the array;
• actuating the motor for rotating the array about an axis perpendicular to said plane of the array to a plurality of positions to provide a plurality of corresponding scan planes for obtaining a plurality of corresponding two-dimensional cross-sectional images;
• and
• monitoring the plurality of positions via the position feedback mechanism for providing the remote ultrasound imaging electronics with position data corresponding to each of the two-dimensional cross-sectional images.

In an ultrasound imaging system, a method for obtaining a three-dimensional image of a subject comprising:

• providing a transesophageal ultrasound probe comprising a rotatable substantially planar transducer array within the distal end of said probe having a scan plane perpendicular to a plane of the array and corresponding to a position of the array, a motor for rotating the array, a controller for actuating the motor and synchronized to the subject's electrocardiogram cycle, and ultrasound imaging electronics coupled to the probe for producing a two-dimensional cross-sectional image corresponding to a particular scan plane of the array, and a position feedback mechanism coupled to the array for providing array position indications;
• directing the array to a first orientation to provide the corresponding scan plane for producing the corresponding two-dimensional cross-sectional image;
• actuating the motor via the controller to rotate the array about an axis perpendicular to said plane of the array to subsequent orientations to provide the corresponding scan planes for producing the corresponding two-dimensional cross-sectional images, wherein each image is associated with a particular time in the subject's electrocardiogram cycle;
• monitoring the array positions via the position feedback mechanism for providing the remote ultrasound imaging electronics with position indications corresponding to each of the two-dimensional cross-sectional images;
• and
• processing the two-dimensional cross-sectional images along with the position indications in the ultrasound imaging electronics to obtain a three-dimensional image associated with the particular time in the subject's electrocardiogram cycle.