Ultrasonic medical system and associated method

A medical system, comprising:

• a carrier disposable in pressure-wave transmitting contact with a portion of a patient's body surface;
• at least one electroacoustic transducer attached to said carrier and operatively connectable to an a-c current generator, whereby said electroacoustic transducer may be energized with an electrical signal of a pre-established ultrasonic frequency to produce a first pressure wave;
• at least one acoustoelectric transducer attached to said carrier;
• an electronic ultrasonic signal analyzer operatively connectable to said acoustoelectric transducer;
• and
• a diagnostic unit operatively connectable to said acoustoelectric transducer via said signal analyzer, for automatically performing a diagnostic evaluation of tissue structures internal to said patient in response to second pressure waves produced at internal tissues of the patient in response to said first pressure wave, said diagnostic unit including means for automatically measuring a geometric dimension of said tissue structures and for comparing the measured dimension with a stored reference.

A medical method, comprising:

• disposing a carrier in pressure-wave transmitting contact with a portion of a patient's body surface, an electromechanical transducer being attached to said carrier;
• activating said transducer to generate a first pressure wave in the patient;
• sensing second pressure waves produced at internal tissues of the patient in response to said first pressure wave;
• automatically analyzing said second pressure waves to determine three-dimensional internal tissue structures of the patient;
• and
• automatically deriving a diagnosis of a condition of the patient from the determined three-dimensional tissue structures, the deriving of said diagnosis including measuring at least one geometrical dimension of said internal tissues structures and comparing the measured dimension with a prestored reference size.