Needle insertion guide apparatus and method
AssigneeVolunteers for Medical Engineering
InventorsJohn H. Staehlin, Guy Rubley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed is an apparatus and method for guiding a needle into a blood vessel of a patient. The apparatus is removably attached to a patient's arm, and uses the returns from transducer arrays to locate the blood vessel. The needle, positioned on the apparatus, is maneuvered in accordance with the transducer returns to ensure accurate penetration of the blood vessel.
Claims24
A guide for locating a blood vessel in a patient and guiding a needle into the located blood vessel, the guide comprising:
- a main support housing;
- means for removably securing the main support housing to the patient;
- a plurality of transducers attached to the main support housing for generating signals for locating a three-dimensional location of the blood vessel;
- means for converting the signals into a representation of the three-dimensional location of the blood-vessel;
- and
- at least one needle support attached to the main support housing for incremental adjustment and incremental positioning of the needle and the angle of entry of the needle in coordination with the representation of the three-dimensional location of the blood vessel.
A method for locating a blood vessel in a patient and guiding a needle into the located blood vessel comprising the steps of:
- removably securing a main support housing to the patient;
- energizing a plurality of transducers, including an aft transducer, attached to the main support housing for transmitting and receiving signals;
- adjusting a lateral position of the main support housing based upon a signal return from the aft transducer;
- converting the signals into a representation of a three-dimensional location of the blood-vessel;
- locating the blood vessel based on the representation of the three-dimensional location of the blood-vessel;
- and
- incrementally guiding a needle into the patient in coordination with the representation of the three-dimensional location of the blood-vessel.
A method for locating a blood vessel in a patient and guiding a needle into the located blood vessel comprising the steps of:
- removably securing a main support housing to the patient;
- energizing a plurality of transducers, including a first and a second plurality of transducers, attached to the main support housing for transmitting and receiving signals;
- adjusting a longitudinal position of a needle support based upon signal returns from the first and second plurality of transducers;
- converting the signals into a representation of a three-dimensional location of the blood-vessel;
- locating the blood vessel based on the representation of the three-dimensional location of the blood-vessel;
- and
- incrementally guiding a needle into the patient in coordination with the representation of the three-dimensional location of the blood-vessel.
A method for locating a blood vessel in a patient and guiding a needle into the located blood vessel comprising the steps of:
- removably securing a main support housing to the patient;
- energizing a plurality of transducers attached to the main support housing for transmitting and receiving signals;
- converting the signals into a representation of a three-dimensional location of the blood-vessel;
- locating the blood vessel based on the representation of the three-dimensional location of the blood-vessel;
- and
- incrementally guiding a needle into the patient, including sliding the needle along two needle supports until its point penetrates one wall of the blood vessel, in coordination with the representation of the three-dimensional location of the blood-vessel.
A method for locating a blood vessel in a patient and guiding a needle into the located blood vessel comprising the steps of:
- removably securing a main support housing to the patient;
- energizing a plurality of transducers attached to the main support housing for transmitting and receiving signals;
- adjusting a lateral position of the main support housing based upon a comparison of signal returns from at least one corresponding pair of transducers;
- converting the signals into a representation of a three-dimensional location of the blood-vessel;
- locating the blood vessel based on the representation of the three-dimensional location of the blood-vessel;
- and
- incrementally guiding a needle into the patient in coordination with the representation of the three-dimensional location of the blood-vessel.
A method for locating a blood vessel in a patient and guiding a needle into the located blood vessel comprising the steps of:
- removably securing a main support housing to the patient;
- energizing a plurality of transducers attached to the main support housing, including a centerline transducer positioned along a centerline of the main support housing, for transmitting and receiving signals;
- laterally moving the main support housing until the centerline transducer is aligned with the blood vessel;
- converting the signals into a representation of a three-dimensional location of the blood-vessel;
- locating the blood vessel based on the representation of the three-dimensional location of the blood-vessel;
- and
- incrementally guiding a needle into the patient in coordination with the representation of the three-dimensional location of the blood-vessel.
A method for locating a blood vessel in a patient and guiding a needle into the located blood vessel comprising the steps of:
- removably securing a support housing to the patient said support housing including a centerline transducer positioned along its centerline and two sets of a plurality of transducers arranged as linear arrays generally perpendicular to its centerline, with each transducer on one set having a corresponding counterpart transducer on the other;
- energizing the centerline transducer to transmit and receive signals and moving the housing laterally to obtain a peak reading from the transducer, thereby locating the lateral position of a blood vessel;
- maintaining the housing in position over the located blood vessel;
- energizing the array transducers to determine the depth of the blood vessel;
- and
- guiding the needle into the blood vessel, according to the detected location of the blood vessel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.