Bayard Gardineer

Water circulation and maintenance system for an ultrasound mammary scanning apparatus

A water conditioning system for maintaining and conditioning the water used in an ultrasound imaging system especially adapted to perform diagnosis of the human breast. The system includes a cabinet enclosing a main tank which contains an ultrasound transducer and associated focusing lens submerged in water. The main tank has associated with it a main reservoir. A second quantity of water which is adapted to receive the patients breast is contained in a flexible bag having an open end supported adjacent the patient and having a closed end draped into engagement with the water in the pool and the water in the tank. The suspension pool also has a reservoir associated with it. The main tank and the suspension pool each have separate but interdependent fluid circulation circuits for conditioning the water in the tank and the suspension pool to provide a good transmission medium by filtering heating purifying and monitoring the water level of the water in the tank and in the suspension pool.

Patient support apparatus for ultrasound mammary scanning apparatus

There is disclosed a patient support system for orienting the patients breast and adjacent axilla region with respect to an ultrasound mammary scanning apparatus while the breast is suspended. A patient support platform is supported on top of a cabinet enclosing the ultrasound system which includes a transducer tank in which a transducer and sonic lens is submerged in water. The platform includes an aperture to permit the patients breast to suspend into a pool of water defined by a flexible bag supported about the aperture by means of a frame. The bag drapes down and contacts the surface of the water in the transducer tank to provide a continuous transmission medium for the ultrasound from the transducer to the breast. The platform is specially contained to comfortably support the patient and restrain the patient against rolling or sliding. An adjustable headrest extends over the aperture and a step platform, kneeling bench and vanity screen, which can be converted to a support platform extension, permit different sized patients to conveniently use the apparatus.

Transducer drive and control

In an ultrasound imaging system employing a moving or oscillating transducer, actual transducer position is detected periodically, rather than continuously. A magnet is caused to oscillate with the transducer, and periodic alignment of the magnet with a fixedly mounted Hall effect switch provides synchronization data for sonic pulse generation, pulse-echo receipt, and image assembly and display.

Quasi-omnidirectional transducers for ultrasonic electronic-beacon guidance of invasive devices

A rapidly expanding area of medical treatment is using small invasive devices, e.g., balloon angioplasty catheters, to eliminate the need for conventional open surgery. The usual x-ray guidance requires patient and physician irradiation and the injection of contrast media, both undesirable. Ultrasound guidance, which would eliminate these hazards, has not been used because of the difficulty in determining with certainty the exact location of a particular point on the invasive device. By placing a transducer at such a point to act as a beacon, exact positioning by ultrasound imaging has been achieved. The required transducers response must be almost omnidirectional, so that it detects the imaging systems beam independently of angle; the size of the transducer must be small, so that the device can penetrate into the body easily; finally, the cost of the transducer must be low, so that it may be thrown away after one use. We show how the transducer is designed to achieve the required angular response and size, and outline how the required transducers can be fabricated at low cost.