Forward-looking catheters.
Current intravascular ultrasound catheters provide a cross-sectional view of the blood vessel that limits their ability to visualize severely stenosed or occluded vessels. Forward-looking ultrasound catheters can overcome these limitations. Development of a practical forward-looking ultrasound catheter requires solutions to address the need for improved lateral resolution and depth of penetration presented by the forward-looking format. Methods are also needed to generate the forward-looking scan within the space constraints of a catheter. New developments using mechanical scanning methods suggest that a practical device appears achievable. Two-dimensional, as well as three-dimensional imaging, may be possible. Early efforts towards a phased array scanner have also begun.
Liang
D H
DH
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University Hospital, California 94305, USA. dliang@circ.stanford.edu
Hu
B S
BS
D000818:Animals; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002404:Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008904:Miniaturization; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional / Q000295:instrumentation*