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US 5,365,928 AGranted
Endorectal probe with planar moveable MRI coil
AssigneeMedrad, Inc.
InventorsEdward J. Rhinehart, Michael A. Spohn
Life of this patent
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AssigneeMedrad, Inc.
InventorsEdward J. Rhinehart, Michael A. Spohn
Estimating the term…
An insertable intracavity probe for use in magnetic resonance imaging of an area of interest in a relatively inaccessible region of the body is disclosed. The probe has an internal pickup coil carried at the distal end of a shaft for rectal insertion of the coil and an inflatable anti-migration cuff to hold the probe in position and prevent outward migration thereof during a procedure. The anti-migration cuff is carried on an outer sleeve which is slidably and rotatably mounted on the shaft. The coil is carried on a resilient tip structure at the distal end of the shaft which is flexible in the plane normal to the plane of the coil. Deflection of the coil assembly is controlled by a pair of control lines attached to the distal end of the tip structure. The lines may be selectively tensioned to deflect the coil in the direction of tension by a thumb wheel control at the handle of the probe.
An insertable intracavity probe for use in magnetic resonance imaging of a region of interest within a body cavity comprising an elongate shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, a handle on the proximal end of the shaft, and a balloon structure on the distal end of the shaft, the balloon structure including an outer balloon, a pickup coil in the outer balloon lying in a plane, the probe further comprising an electrical lead for connecting the coil to an interface network, and means connected to the coil within the outer balloon for selectively deflecting the coil in a plane normal to the plane of the coil, wherein the balloon structure includes an inner elongate member having a substantially triangular cross-section attached to said deflecting means, and said coil is mounted to one side of said member.
An insertable intracavity probe for use in magnetic resonance imaging of an anatomical area of interest within a body cavity, comprising an elongate shaft having a proximal and a distal end, a handle on the proximal end of the shaft, and a balloon structure on the distal end of the shaft, the balloon structure including an outer balloon, a pickup coil in the outer balloon lying in a plane, and at least one internal balloon for controlling the shape of the pickup coil by selective inflation, wherein the internal balloon includes a sealed center area defining a peripheral channel, which, when inflated, will accommodate the anatomical area of interest, the probe further comprising an electrical lead for connecting the coil to an interface network, means for inflating the internal balloon, and means connected to the coil within the outer balloon for selectively deflecting the coil in a plane normal to the plane of the coil.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.