Location sensing with real-time ultrasound imaging
AssigneeBiosense, Inc.
InventorsAssaf Govari, Ilya Beletsky
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus for mapping a surface of a cavity within a body of a subject includes an elongate probe, having a longitudinal axis and including a distal portion adapted for insertion into the cavity. A primary acoustic transducer on the distal portion of the probe is adapted to emit acoustic waves while the probe is in the cavity. A plurality of secondary acoustic transducers, distributed along the longitudinal axis over the distal portion of the probe, are adapted to receive the acoustic waves after reflection of the waves from the surface of the cavity and to generate, responsive to the received waves, electrical signals indicative of times of flight of the waves.
Claims44
Apparatus for mapping a surface of a cavity within a body of a subject, comprising:
- an elongate probe, having a longitudinal axis and comprising a distal portion adapted for insertion into the cavity;
- a primary acoustic transducer on the distal portion of the probe, adapted to emit acoustic waves while the probe is in the cavity;
- a plurality of secondary acoustic transducers, distributed along the longitudinal axis over the distal portion of the probe, which are adapted to receive the acoustic waves after reflection of the waves from the surface of the cavity and to generate, responsive to the received waves, electrical signals indicative of times of flight of the waves;
- and
- control circuitry, adapted to receive and to process the electrical signals generated by the secondary acoustic transducers so as to reconstruct a three-dimensional shape of the surface of the cavity based on the times of flight, wherein the circuitry is operative to distinguish the signals generated responsive to the waves that have undergone one reflection from the surface of the cavity from the signals generated responsive to the waves that have undergone multiple reflections, and to reject the signals due to the waves that have undergone the multiple reflections.
A method for mapping a surface of a cavity within a body of a subject, comprising:
- inserting a probe into the cavity, the probe having a longitudinal axis;
- emitting acoustic waves within the cavity from a primary point on the probe;
- receiving the acoustic waves at each of a plurality of secondary points distributed along the longitudinal axis of the probe, following reflection of the emitted waves from the surface of the cavity;
- analyzing the received waves to determine times of flight of the waves;
- reconstructing a three-dimensional shape of the surface of the cavity based on the determined times of flight, by determining, responsive to the times of flight, distances from the secondary points to corresponding points on the surface of the cavity generally opposite the secondary points, and combining the determined distances so as to reconstruct the shape, and distinguishing the waves received at the secondary points after one reflection from the surface of the cavity from the waves received after multiple reflections, and rejecting the waves received after the multiple reflections.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.