Patent Application
20160045184
The present disclosure relates generally to the field of image guidance of minimally invasive procedures within mammals.
Minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures are commonplace in modern medicine. Cardiovascular medicine provides several examples where minimally invasive procedures are an integral part of patient care. Example procedures include electrophysiology studies to better diagnose or characterize arrhythmias, ablation procedures to treat arrhythmias, angioplasty and stenting for coronary artery disease, minimally invasive valve replacement or repair and several others. Many of these procedures involve the introduction of devices into the chambers, potential spaces (such as the pericardial space), vessels and tissues of mammalian anatomy.
Several imaging modalities or other guidance systems are used to guide the manipulation and placement of devices during minimally invasive procedures, including x-rays, ultrasound, MRI, optical imaging techniques and electroanatomical mapping systems (such as CARTO™).
Ultrasound can be a particularly attractive imaging modality for many minimally invasive procedures as it provides real-time images of anatomy with better soft-tissue contrast and cross-sectional imaging than is readily available with x-ray based techniques such as fluoroscopy. Furthermore, ultrasound does not use ionizing radiation, which has been shown to have risks associated with it, such as an increased risk of malignancy.
However, ultrasound is subject to some artifacts that can impede its use in image guidance. Such artifacts include the variability in the visibility of devices in the field of view based on their alignment with ultrasound beams used for imaging, the reflectivity of the materials of the devices being imaged, the surface texture of the devices being imaged and other factors well known in the art of ultrasound imaging. For example, a polished needle in the field of view of an ultrasound probe will typically be displayed as a bright line if the ultrasound beam is perpendicular to a portion of the surface of the needle, as the needle is very reflective and the perpendicular orientation would cause a relatively large portion of the ultrasound imaging energy to reflect back towards the imaging probe. That same needle would typically not be as visible if the needle were oriented such that the reflected ultrasound imaging beam was directed away from the imaging probe. Devices that have a more coarsely textured surface or include other features that cause incident ultrasound energy to be scattered rather than reflected in a specular fashion, will typically have less angle-dependency in terms of the intensity of their appearance in an ultrasound image. In some cases, devices can appear to be in locations where they don't truly reside due to artifacts caused by multiple reflections of ultrasound beams off of surrounding structures.
Ultrasound provides ‘real-time’ imaging system with a limited field of view over a short period of time. It takes more time to scan a region (such as a 2D plane or contoured 2D surface, or a 3D volume) in order to generate an image. In comparison, fluoroscopy can collect an image over a wide field of view, wherein the pixels in the image are collected in parallel, providing a high degree of temporal resolution and a large field of view. One of the challenges of using ultrasound for image guidance relates to keeping the devices or anatomy being imaged within the field of view that is being interrogated by the ultrasound device itself. Generally speaking, enlarging the field of view imaged with ultrasound often involves reducing the frequency at which the imaging dataset can be refreshed, as there are lower limits as to how much time is required to wait for ultrasound energy beams to propagate repeatedly through tissue with adequate sampling of the region being imaged.
Systems and methods are provided for localizing and visualizing devices with the use of an intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe during a medical procedure. A primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe is employed to image a three-dimensional region via scanning, and to locate a secondary intracorporeal device having one or more ultrasonic beacon transducers.
When an A-scan vector associated with the primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging device is directed towards one or more of the ultrasound beacon transducers of the secondary intracorporeal device, a communication signal is transmitted from the secondary intracorporeal device to a control and processing system associated with the primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging device, either through acoustic transmission or non-acoustic transmission. Example embodiments are provided in which acoustic communication may be employed within the imaging band, or in a separate communication band distinct from the communication band. Various example dual-band, single-stack ultrasound imaging transducer embodiments are disclosed.
Accordingly, in one aspect, there is provided a method of locating a secondary intracorporeal device while performing imaging with a primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe, wherein the primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe comprises an ultrasonic imaging device, and wherein the primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe is configured for three-dimensional scanning, and wherein the secondary intracorporeal device comprises one or more ultrasonic beacon transducers having a combined broad angular response, the method comprising:
In another aspect, there is provided a method of locating a secondary intracorporeal device while performing imaging with a primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe, wherein the primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe comprises an ultrasonic imaging device having an imaging frequency band and a communication frequency band, wherein the primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe is configured for three-dimensional scanning, and wherein the secondary intracorporeal device comprises one or more ultrasonic beacon transducers having a combined broad angular response, the method comprising:
In another aspect, there is provided an intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging system comprising:
In another aspect, there is provided an intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging system comprising:
In another aspect, there is provided an ultrasonic transducer having a frequency response comprising a first frequency band and a second frequency band, comprising:
In another aspect, there is provided an ultrasonic transducer comprising:
In another aspect, there is provided a method of locating a secondary intracorporeal device while performing imaging with a primary intracorporeal imaging probe, wherein the primary intracorporeal imaging probe comprises an ultrasound device, and wherein the primary intracorporeal imaging probe is configured for three-dimensional scanning, and wherein the secondary intracorporeal device comprises one or more ultrasonic beacon transducers having a combined broad angular response, the method comprising:
A further understanding of the functional and advantageous aspects of the disclosure can be realized by reference to the following detailed description and drawings.
Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings, in which:
Various embodiments and aspects of the disclosure will be described with reference to details discussed below. The following description and drawings are illustrative of the disclosure and are not to be construed as limiting the disclosure. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to provide a concise discussion of embodiments of the present disclosure.
As used herein, the terms, “comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed as being inclusive and open ended, and not exclusive. Specifically, when used in the specification and claims, the terms, “comprises” and “comprising” and variations thereof mean the specified features, steps or components are included. These terms are not to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, steps or components.
As used herein, the term “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other configurations disclosed herein.
As used herein, the terms “about” and “approximately” are meant to cover variations that may exist in the upper and lower limits of the ranges of values, such as variations in properties, parameters, and dimensions. Unless otherwise specified, the terms “about” and “approximately” mean plus or minus 20 percent or less.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein are intended to have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Various embodiments described herein refer to an “operational wavelength” of a transducer. The term “operational wavelength” may be defined as described below.
When designing a piezoelectric based ultrasound transducer stack, the thickness of the active layer is often substantially smaller than the width of the active layer (typically 1/10th the size or smaller). This is done to separate the frequency of the fundamental thickness resonant mode of the layer from any lateral resonance mode and/or to maintain beam characteristics for imaging. Within any propagating material or medium (such as conductive silver epoxy or human tissue) the propagating waveform will have a fundamental wavelength that is related to the frequency of the fundamental resonance mode through the speed of sound of the material or medium, according to the relation: Wavelength=speed of sound/frequency. In some embodiments, the operational wavelength may be this fundamental design wavelength.
In real transducers, materials are not perfect (ideal) resonators and therefore the fundamental frequency is actually a band of excited frequencies that can be characterized by a center frequency and a bandwidth of excited frequencies. Matching layers and backing layers are added to effectively couple as much of the resonant energy out the front face of the transducer stack and into the propagating medium in as short a time as possible. This will result in yet a broader frequency response of the stack, (i.e. broader bandwidth of excited frequencies) allowing for the transducer stack to more closely replicate an ultrasound pulse response waveform from a short excitation transmit signal (say a single cycle waveform) as well as from a more narrow band excitation pulse such as a tone burst of several cycles in duration. Fabrication tolerances can also result in deviations of the time and frequency response of the transducer. In some embodiments, the operational wavelength associated with the transducer may be the wavelength within the frequency response of the stack, such as the center wavelength. For example, in some embodiments, the operational wavelength associated with the transducer may include any wavelength within this combined design, excitation pulse, fabrication tolerance dependent bandwidth. It will be understood that the term wavelength is dependent on the material through which the ultrasound energy is propagating, and thus refers to the wavelength within a particular material.
In many clinical applications, it is important to be able to accurately track the position of all or a portion of one or more devices within an anatomic region being imaged. For example, the position of the tip of an ablation catheter relative to the anatomy of the left atrium plays an important role in whether or not an ablation procedure is successful. If the tip is not making adequate contact with the tissue targeted for ablation, the result may be an unsuccessful treatment. Similarly, if the tip of an ablation catheter is inserted deeply within a pulmonary vein, rather than near the ostium of a pulmonary vein, there is an increased risk of causing pulmonary vein stenosis during ablation.
As noted above, various imaging modalities may be employed to track the position of a device within a subject. One option to locate an intracorporeal device, such as a catheter, is to use ultrasound signals. For example, one known method of locating an intracorporeal device via ultrasound location sensing involves the use an external ultrasound device that is contacted with the body in order to locate the intracorporeal device having a series of spatially separated ultrasonic beacon transducers, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,709 (SoIf) and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,539 (Vilkomerson et al.).
According to another approach, as described in US Patent Publication No. 2013/0217997 (Byrd), an ultrasound catheter may be located using time-of-flight information associated with non-directional, or weakly directional, ultrasound signals sent between the ultrasound catheter, and ultrasound beacons residing on neighbouring positioning catheters, where the ultrasound catheter employs at least one non-directional ultrasound transducer for communicating with beacon transducers on the positioning probes.
Unfortunately, such methods are prone to problems associated with the need for external imaging devices, multiple probes, complex beacon geometries and configurations, limited location resolution and accuracy, and artifacts associated with scattering and variations in the speed of sound within tissue.
Various embodiments described herein provide systems and methods for determining the location of a secondary intracorporeal device relative to a primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe, where the primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe is configured to scan a three-dimensional volume. In contrast to the aforementioned methods of performing ultrasonic locating of devices, various embodiments of the present disclosure employ the three-dimensional A-scan vectors associated with a three-dimensional scanning primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe for actively locating a secondary device having ultrasound beacon transducers provided thereon. Accordingly, various embodiments described herein employ the highly directional nature of ultrasonic scanning devices to identify, via scanning a three-dimensional volume, the location of a secondary device based on directional, line-of-sight communication, between the primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe and one or more ultrasonic beacon transducers located on the secondary device. It will be understood that although many of the example embodiments described herein refer to the locating of a secondary device, the systems and methods used herein may be employed to locate multiple devices having ultrasonic beacon transducers thereon.
Referring now to
Such an active three-dimensional scanning approach provides improved locating performance over passive approaches involving imaging alone. Passive detection relies solely on the transmitted imaging beam to reflect off of the secondary intracorporeal device and to be sensed by the imaging device when in receiving mode. This limited interaction of the ultrasound signal, between the primary and secondary intracorporeal devices can make the reliable estimation of the position of the secondary intracorporeal device challenging relative to the surrounding tissue and relative to the imaging probe itself using passive imaging methods.
For example, when using a passive imaging approach, strong reflections from components and surfaces of the secondary device can lead to bright reflections, which may help to highlight the object within the image, but with reduced spatial resolution. In addition, if several surfaces of the secondary intracorporeal device are significantly parallel to the primary ultrasound imaging beam, then it may be problematic to determine the edge of the device, since the path of the reflected ultrasound imaging signal will mostly be directed away from the imaging transducer. The intensity of the acoustic echo received by the primary device may be quite small and blend in with the surrounding tissue or be perceived as noise. Also, the interaction of the acoustic imaging beam with the device and surrounding environment can disturb the direction of the acoustic energy and distort the representation of tissue around the secondary device. These may lead to artifacts known as shadowing, ghosting and time of flight distortions, to name a few such artifacts. Accordingly, when employing such passive imaging-based location approaches, depending on the extent to which a secondary device falls within the field of view, it may be challenging to satisfactorily determine the actual position and orientation of the device as required for its intended use and thus be challenging to adequately predict how the secondary device will interact with the surrounding tissue.
The systems and methods described herein, which generally relate to the use of a primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging device for the active detection of an ultrasound beacon transducer on a secondary intracorporeal device based on the scanning of ultrasound energy, may be implemented according to a wide variety of scanning configurations, examples of which are described below.
In some example embodiments, the ultrasound imaging device may be configured to mechanically scan the three-dimensional imaging region. Some example implementations of a mechanically scanned ultrasonic imaging probe for scanning a three-dimensional imaging region within a subject is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,214,010 (Courtney et al.), the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. Mechanical scanning of an ultrasound imaging device may be achieved via a distal scanning element that is configured to scan a three-dimensional volume in which an ultrasonic transducer is mechanically scanned, or in which an acoustic beam deflector is mechanically scanned to scan an ultrasound beam emitted from an ultrasonic transducer. In some embodiments, the ultrasonic imaging device may be mounted on an imaging assembly that is attached or otherwise connected to a rotatable conduit or shaft (e.g. a torque cable) housed within a hollow sheath of the primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe. In such a case, the scanning of the beam in the azimuthal direction (about an axis parallel to the rotation axis of the rotatable shaft) may be achieved due to rotation of the rotatable shaft, and scanning in the polar angle (subtended in a plane including the longitudinal axis of the rotatable shaft) may be achieved by another actuation mechanism, such as, but not limited to, an electromagnet, a steering cable mechanism, or a centripetal mechanism associated with the rotational velocity of the rotatable shaft, as described below.
Referring now to
Primary control and processing system 200 is employed to facilitate the coordinated activity of the many functional units of the system, and may contain some or all of the components shown in the Figure and listed herein. Computing system 34 includes one or more processors, memory, data storage, and processing modules (stored logic) for performing various methods described in the present disclosure. For example, computing system 34 includes clock/timing and location analysis processing modules for analyzing communication signals obtained from secondary intracorporeal device 110. The memory may store, for example, calibration data, such as calibration data pertaining to usable frequencies and configuration parameters for establishing the communication link.
Secondary intracorporeal device 110 is connected to secondary control system 220, which may include any of the components of control and processing system 200. As shown in the figure, secondary control and processing system 220 may be connected (directly or indirectly) to primary control and processing system 200. In some embodiments, secondary control and processing system 220 may be integrated directly with primary control and processing system 200 to form a single integrated control and processing system. These and other embodiments are described in further detail below.
An operator interacts with system 10 via display and/or user interface 38. System 10 may further include electrode sensors 40 to acquire electrocardiogram signals from the body of the patient being imaged.
Ultrasound subsystem 32 may include any or all of the following components: pulse generators, electronic filters, analog to digital converters, parallel processing arrays, envelope detectors, beam-forming circuitry, amplifiers including time gain compensation amplifiers and other components known to facilitate acoustic imaging techniques.
The example system shown in
Example imaging probe 44 includes an imaging assembly 50, optional imaging conduit 46 along a substantial portion of its length, and connector 48 at its proximal end 47. Imaging assembly 50 is located near distal end 41 of imaging probe 44. Imaging assembly 50 generally refers to the components of the imaging probe 44 from which the signals (acoustic and optionally optical) are collected for the purposes of imaging a region that is proximate to imaging assembly 50. Imaging assembly 50 may house transducers for transmitting and/or receiving imaging energy. The emitter and receiver may be a single component, as is often the case with a piezoelectric transducer.
It is to be understood that patient interface module 36 and computing system 34 are but one example illustration of the selection and organization of hardware subsystems, and that many other implementations are possible. For example, patient interface module 36 may be housed with controller and processing systems 34 within processing and display system 49.
In the case of optical imaging, imaging assembly 50 typically contains the distal tip of a fiber optic, as well as a combination of optical components such as a lens (for instance, a ball lens or a GRIN lens). A mirror and/or prism may be included for use in beam delivery and/or collection. Optionally, there may be an optical detector, such as a CCD array, or an optical light source, such as one or more LEDs, incorporated directly in the imaging assembly that may obviate the need for one or more fiber optics in an optical imaging probe.
Imaging probe 44 may contain ports at one or more points along its length to facilitate flushing. Moreover, imaging assembly 50, connector 48 and/or imaging conduit 46 may be filled and/or surrounded with a fluid such as saline, and may be flushed.
Imaging conduit 46 includes at least one conductive wire (optionally two or more) that connect an emitter and/or receiver via connection to an adapter, herein referred to as patient interface module 36.
Patient interface module 36 facilitates transmission of signals within any fibers and/or wires to the appropriate image processing systems. It may contain a motor drive unit for imparting motion to the components of the imaging mechanism.
In many applications, it can be important to optimize the geometry of a minimally invasive probe so that it is as small as reasonably possible to achieve its desired purpose. Current intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) probes are approximately 0.9 to 4 mm in diameter and the smaller sizes of probes can be delivered more distally within the vascular tree of the coronary anatomy as the vessel caliber tapers down or as diseased vessels are stenosed. Furthermore, within the cardiac anatomy, smaller probes (such as those with a diameter less than about 4 mm) can be readily advanced across the atrial septum into the left atrium of the heart. Thus, smaller sizes generally allow for delivery of the device into a larger portion of the coronary or cardiac anatomy. It is therefore desirable for a probe and its components to be contained within a minimal outer diameter to enable imaging, such as using imaging performed with the scanning mechanisms described by Courtney et al. (US Issued U.S. Pat. No. 8,214,010, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety).
Tiltable member 51 is mounted on pins 102, about which tiltable member 51 is able to pivot and is bias towards its starting position with the use of a restoring force. As imaging conduit and assembly (not shown) are rotated about longitudinal axis 59 at a slow rate (indicated by arcing hatched arrow 61), the angle α subtended between longitudinal axis 59 and tiltable member 51 is relatively small. A cutaway perspective cross-sectional view of
Tiltable member 51 may be an ultrasonic transducer, such as an ultrasound transducer used for producing B-scan ultrasound images. Another embodiment includes an ultrasound transducer mounted on a tiltable member.
In some embodiments, a mechanism may be provided for detecting the tilt angle of the tiltable member. A number of example implementations are described in PCT Patent Application No. PCT/CA2012/050057, titled “ULTRASONIC PROBE WITH ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCERS ADDRESSABLE ON COMMON ELECTRICAL CHANNEL”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. As shown in
In order to cause the imaging angle to return to a stable position in the absence of rotation, a restoring mechanism can be used as shown in
In another example embodiment, the primary intracorporeal imaging ultrasound probe may employ a phased array of transducer elements. In one example implementation, a linear phased array of ultrasonic transducer elements may be provided on a rotating shaft or conduit housed within a hollow sheath of the primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe, where the linear array is arranged along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the probe. The linear array may be employed to scan a two-dimensional region within a plane including the longitudinal axis of the probe, which may be rotated via the rotatable shaft to achieve three-dimensional scanning.
In various embodiments, the location of the secondary intracorporeal device 110 is determined based on the detection, by one or more ultrasound beacon transducers 120, of ultrasound energy emitted along a particular A-scan vector, originating from the primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100, and the subsequent transmission of a communication signal between secondary intracorporeal device 110, and primary control and processing system 100. As described in various embodiments below, the ultrasound energy transmitted, in a scanning configuration along multiple A-scan vectors, from primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 to secondary intracorporeal device 110, may reside within the imaging bandwidth of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 (i.e. within the imaging band), or may reside in a separate communication band that is distinct and separated, in the frequency domain, from the imaging band. Also, according to various example embodiments, the transmission of the communication signal from secondary intracorporeal device 110 to primary control and processing system 200 may be achieved according to an acoustic link between the ultrasonic beacon transducer of secondary intracorporeal device 110 and primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 (within the imaging band, or within a separated communication band, as noted above), or via a non-acoustic transmission between secondary intracorporeal device 110 and primary and control system 200. Examples of these different methods and systems are described in further detail below.
As noted above, the one or more ultrasound beacon transducers 120 on secondary intracorporeal device 110 provide for the active detection of incoming ultrasound energy emitted, along a given A-scan vector, by the ultrasonic imaging device of the primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100. The fact that a given ultrasonic beacon transducer 120 attached to secondary intracorporeal device 110 detects an acoustic signal means that the position of the ultrasonic beacon transducer 120 is in the path of the ultrasound beam originating from primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe 100, and thus defines an event in time that can be correlated to the spatial vector linking primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe 100 and secondary intracorporeal device 110, and can therefore be associated with the known direction of the ultrasound vector that originated from primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe 100.
As noted above, the one or more ultrasound beacon transducers 120 on a secondary intracorporeal device 110 provide for the active detection of incoming emitted ultrasound energy, along a given A-scan vector, generated by the ultrasonic imaging device of the primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100. According to one example implementation involving the use of a secondary system, each of the beacon transducers may have an associated ID code stored in memory on the secondary process and control system. The ID code may contain calibrated data defining the response characteristics (including the position of the beacon on the secondary device and latencies) of the beacon transducer in question. The fact that a given ultrasonic beacon transducer 120 attached to the secondary intracorporeal device 110 detects an acoustic signal means that the position of the ultrasonic beacon transducer 120 is in the path of the ultrasound beam originating from the primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe 100, and thus defines a communication event in time that can be correlated to the spatial vector linking the primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe 100 and the secondary intracorporeal device 110, and can therefore be associated with the known direction of the ultrasound vector that originated from primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe 100.
Determining the 1-way time of flight between the imaging assembly of the primary device and the beacon transducer of the secondary device can be achieved in several ways. For example, if the transmitted imaging energy is used to establish an active communication link leading to a communication signal then the timing can be monitored by keeping track of the time of the initial imaging trigger (from the primary control and processing system) and the arrival time of the received ultrasound energy from a beacon transducer. According to the present example, this arrival time would first be determined on the secondary control and processing System and can be communicated through an external connection to the primary control and processing system. As noted elsewhere, the external connection may be, for example, one of an electrical connection, a wireless connection, and an optical connection. The difference in timing would represent the 1-way ultrasound propagation time plus the electrical response time. The electrical response time of the control and processing systems will be on a time scale that is much shorter than the acoustic time of flight.
The secondary control and processing system will also determine and store at least one acoustic parameter of the received ultrasound energy within the ultrasound bandwidth of the beacon transducer that received said ultrasound energy (for example: peak intensity, pulse duration of received waveform, operational frequency, bandwidth of waveform spectrum, the intensity of amplitude modulation) to identify the nature of said energy that originated from the Primary probe. The clocks between the Primary and Secondary Control and Processing systems would be synchronized. For example: the Primary system could simultaneously send a timing synchronization signal to the secondary system when it sends the imaging trigger to the primary ultrasound imaging subsystem such that the secondary system can independently determine the time difference between the triggering of the image signal and the receipt of the ultrasound energy from the beacon transducer.
Any latency in the delay time between sending the imaging energy relative to the initial imaging trigger could be stored in the memory of the primary control and processing system and is a value that can be used as a timing correction factor. Any latency in the delay between the reception of received ultrasound energy from a beacon transducer and the actual time stamping of that signal relative to a timing clock signal in the secondary control and processing system can be stored as calibration data in said secondary system and is a value that can be used as a timing correction factor.
The primary system, which already builds a header of information associated with each A-scan vector of imaging data, for the reconstruction of 2D and 3D images, could add additional information to said header in relation to the active communication link. Such parameters would include, but is not limited to: bidirectional active ultrasound link received (yes or no), 1-way active ultrasound link received (yes or no), time stamp of the imaging trigger, time stamp of the received ultrasound energy, the beacon transducer ID code, timing correction factors, all determined acoustic parameters of the received ultrasound energy within the ultrasound bandwidth of the beacon transducer used to identify the nature of the energy that originated from the Primary probe, etc. . . .
If the above example is modified such that the transmitted ultrasound energy, from the primary probe, intended to initiate an active communication link with a beacon transducer is a waveform that is more narrow band than the imaging waveform, and the communication trigger is initiated with a time lag after the imaging trigger, then the timing of the triggering of both the imaging waveform and communication waveform can be monitored by keeping track of both triggers used and the arrival time of the received ultrasound energy from a beacon transducer can be communicated through the external connection between the primary and secondary control and processing systems. As identified above, any latency between the transmission of either the imaging energy or the communication energy relative to their respective triggers, in the primary system, can be stored in the memory of the primary control and processing system and is a value that can be used as a timing correction factor. Any latency in the processing of the received beacon signal that would at least be dependent on the fact that the imaging and the communication waveforms may be in different frequency bands could also be calibrated and stored in the memory of the secondary control and processing system. Similar to above, at least one acoustic parameter of the received ultrasound energy is determined (for example: peak intensity, pulse duration of received waveform, operational frequency, bandwidth of waveform spectrum, or the intensity of amplitude modulation) to identify the nature of said energy that originated from the primary probe and stored in memory of the secondary control and processing system and transmitted to the primary processing and control system via the external link.
An additional example is provided here for narrowband communication signals. According to this additional example, if a specific feature of the received communication waveform is used to determine the arrival time of the received ultrasonic energy by the beacon transducer, for example: the sixth maximum of a 10 cycle tone burst, then a correction factor equivalent to the time of propagation between the identified feature and the start of the communication waveform, which would be a time latency that is based on the speed of sound and would be ‘long’ relative to the electrical latencies, can be corrected for. The knowledge of the communication signal waveform would be required to perform this correction and this information can be stored in the memory of the primary control and processing system. All pertinent information related to the transmitted imaging and communication energies and the receipt of ultrasound energies by a beacon transducer (either a broadband imaging waveform, or a communication waveform), can be included in the header of the A-scan vector generated by the primary ultrasound imaging subsystem. This information would be used during the reconstruction of a 2D or 3D image.
In the case where multiple beacon transducers are receiving acoustic energy intended for communication, then each electrical circuit associated with each beacon would each have their own control and processing latencies calibrated and stored in memory of the secondary control and processing system and could be transmitted to the Primary system via the external link. The positions of each of the beacons (longitudinally and radially within the transverse plane of the secondary device) would also be known as well as the acoustic response transmitted from each of the beacon transducers. This information would also be stored in memory in the secondary system and could be transmitted to the primary system via the external link
In the case of an active ultrasound communication link between the primary probe and the secondary device, the entire secondary system response time from the receipt of received communication energy by a beacon transducer, to the determination that an acoustic response from the secondary control and processing system, is required and to the latency between sending a trigger to actuate the same beacon transducer and the actual transmission of the return communication energy can be measured and stored as a calibration parameter in the secondary control and processing system. The combined latency can be communicated back to the primary control and processing system via the external link between the two systems, to be used as a correction factor by the primary system to adjust or calibrate the timings.
The received ultrasound communication energies detected by the imaging assembly of the primary imaging probe can be processed by the primary control and processing system in manners that are consistent with all example methods presented for the secondary control and processing systems and similar associated latencies of the primary control and processing system can be stored in the memory of the primary system. All received ultrasound communication energies by the primary probe represents a bidirectional ultrasound communication link that may or may not have additional and complimentary information communicated via an external link (
An active link can be achieved using imaging and communication energy transmitted along the imaging A-scan only or with additional communication energies that are transmitted along known directions relative to the imaging A-scan vector using a grating transducer as part of the imaging assembly in the primary imaging probe (e.g. as shown in
With the use of more than one beacon transducer on a secondary device, the orientation of the secondary device can be estimated by trigonometry and comparing the known relative positions of the beacons on the secondary device to the distances determined by the primary control and processing system (using the header information from each imaging A-scan that contains valid active communication data for both 1-way communication links and bidirectional communication links).
Using all A-scan vector headers that contain a specific Beacon ID code, it is possible to determine the beacon position in space relative to the imaging assembly of the primary probe. This process can be repeated for each Beacon ID code contained within the 3D scan header data.
Knowing the relative placement of the beacon transducer on the secondary device, the position and orientation of the secondary device can be determined.
It is further noted that the beam profile of any primary transducer and of any beacon transducer is not infinitesimally small in cross section. This means that if an active communication link is detected, then in reality, a cluster of consecutive A-scans will generate a similar set of timing and latency parameters to be included in the header of each A-scan transmitted by the imaging assembly of the primary device. The use of a threshold (for example: the peak intensity of the received communication energy by the imaging assembly or the beacon transducer) can be used to reduce the number of consecutive a-scans where the event of an active communication link is detected. For a set of consecutive A-scans that is larger than one (1), there will be slight differences in the recorded time of flight between the transducer devices involved in the link, however each A-scan of the cluster of A-scans could be used to average the estimate of the orientation of the beacon transducers in 3D space when estimating the orientation of the secondary device.
In the case where the beacon detecting a communication signal is being operated in an echo backscatter mode (see
In the case where there is more than one beacon transducer associated with the secondary device, and the beacons themselves are used to self-triangulate (refer to
In some embodiments, the ultrasound energy that is detected by one or more ultrasonic beacon transducers 120 is the imaging ultrasound energy emitted by primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe 100 when scanning the three dimensional volume. An example of such an embodiment is shown in
In one example embodiment, the communication signal may comprise analog radiofrequency data. In another example embodiment, the communication signal may additionally or alternatively comprise triggering and/or timing signals.
It is noted that the many of the example embodiments provided herein employ the active communication involving only the one-way transmission of any given ultrasonic energy, which is advantageous over passive approaches involving two-way acoustic propagation, because the one-way transmission path involves a shorter path length. Accordingly, the detected acoustic signal being used for localization will be of stronger intensity, and the beam profile will be of smaller cross section.
Furthermore, the initial detection of ultrasonic energy by the secondary intracorporeal device occurs in a time interval that is approximately equivalent to the propagation of the ultrasound from device to device and is dependent on the speed of sound in the propagating medium, as well as processing time to interpret the received signals, which is in turn dependent on computer processing (potentially a much shorter time scale). Accordingly, for an active approach, the interpretation of the received acoustic signal is performed electronically after 1-way acoustic propagation and can be relayed back to the primary device system via analog or digital communication. In contrast, for a passive technique, the acoustic time is dependent on two-way propagation of the acoustic energy before any processing of received acoustic data can take place.
Referring again to
Referring now to
It is noted that while the embodiments illustrated in
It will be understood that the one or more ultrasonic beacon transducers 120 associated with secondary intracorporeal device 110 may be provided according to a wide range of geometries and configurations. As shown in
As noted above, it is preferable that the one or more of ultrasonic beacon transducers 120 fixed to secondary intracorporeal device 110 are sensitive to incident ultrasonic energy from as many directions as possible as the relative position and orientation of secondary intracorporeal device 110 with respect to the primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 can vary substantially. On each individual secondary intracorporeal device, this could be achieved with a single non-directional sensor that may be dome shaped (see
According to one example, a secondary intracorporeal device with a single dome shaped aperture transducer made from polymer PVDF, or copolymer, and mounted at the distal tip of the secondary device can provide a broad range of frequency sensitivity over a wide range receiving angles, as shown in
In another example embodiment, a plurality of ultrasound beacon transducers 120 may be provided, where each sensor may have a different degree of directivity ranging from non-directional to highly directional, whereby the plurality of ultrasound beacon transducers are oriented in a wide range of directions. Examples of such embodiments are shown in
In
In cases in which each ultrasonic beacon transducer is configured to emit ultrasonic signals in response to having received ultrasonic energy, it is advantageous (but not necessary) if the emitted ultrasonic energy from each ultrasonic beacon transducer is unique, as this would allow for the primary control and processing system 200 to differentiate between the plurality of received ultrasonic signals that are to be decoupled from the normally expected received signals along any given A-scan vector based on differentiating the nature of the received communication A-scan vectors alone. One or more ultrasonic beacon transducers 120 may take on different sizes and geometries to be sensitive to different frequency bands of acoustic signals or may be highly directed in their sensitivity to be sensitive to acoustic energy coming from a specific location.
In one example embodiment, a series of transducers positioned along the shaft of the secondary device may also provide means of determining the orientation of the secondary device due to shadowing from the acoustic beam caused by the main body of the secondary device itself, as illustrated in
The larger the number of ultrasonic beacon transducers and secondary devices, the greater the opportunity to triangulate between a set of acoustic transducers using a broader range of acoustic parameters (such as frequency, intensity, pulse bandwidth variations, as well as amplitude and frequency modulation, to name a few).
It is further noted that the type of ultrasonic beacon transducer, frequency bandwidth, size, orientation and receive directivity profile all play a role in the ability of the secondary intracorporeal device to receive and detect ultrasound energy from the primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe, and to interpret the parameters of the signal and respond to the received signal (either through a returned acoustic signal or via an electrical or optical communication path including either analog or digital signal communication).
As noted above, the embodiments described herein are not limited to the sensing of a single secondary intracorporeal device, and may be extended or adapted for the detection of, and optionally mutual triangulation among, multiple secondary intracorporeal devices.
All permutations of active communication between the primary and secondary devices can be extended to include a plurality of devices which can in turn be considered as a system, or a network of devices, whereby devices may act as primary or secondary devices in relation to each other. Some of the devices may be located inside or outside of the body. Devices that are not within the field of view of the primary device are tertiary devices (See
In one example embodiment, the nature of the relative motion between the secondary intracorporeal device and the primary intracorporeal imaging probe can be determined. For example: The primary control and processing system can compare, for a given temporal period (or a set of given temporal periods), the imaging signals from a local positional cluster of A-scans with the communication signals of the same cluster of A-scans, and if relative motion is determined between the intracorporeal devices using communication information (either by a change in time of flight to a given beacon transducer, or a change in A-scan clusters where communication links are created as the primary imaging assembly is rotated through several 360 rotations) then this can be compared to the relative motion of tissue as determined using imaging information. Depending on the degree of correlation between the perceived motions from both sets of ultrasound bands of energy the primary control and processing system can determine if the relative motion was due to the primary device being rotated or translated, or if it was the secondary device that moved. If the position of the secondary device has shifted relative to the surrounding tissue, or more subtly, if the cluster of A-scans (within the relative reference frame of the Primary imaging probe) that interact with the beacon transducers changes then this can be compared to the slower temporal motion associated with the background imaged tissue and any of its motion due to for example: cardiac cycles or patient twitches as indicated in
Although many of the figures and examples provided herein show the secondary device as a probe-type device, it will be understood that the secondary device can take on a wide variety of forms. For example, a non-limiting list of examples of secondary devices includes the following: Brockenbrough needles, guidewires, biopsy probes, other ultrasound catheters (both for imaging and therapeutic applications), RF ablation tools, pacing catheters (both temporary and implantable), ventricular assist device cannulae, Swan-Ganz catheters, thermo dilution catheters, pressure sensing catheters, balloon catheters, stents, drug and nutrient delivery catheters (IV therapy and targeted delivery), drainage catheters, probes (Endoscopic, OCT or other), rotational endarterectomy devices, embolic protection devices, catheters containing devices to be deployed including left atrial appendage occluders, transcutaneous aortic valve replacements, mitral repair devices, septal occluders, or any other diagnostic or imaging minimally invasive device that may be used in conjunction with the primary intracorporeal ultrasound imaging probe to complete a medical procedure and can also include implantable devices like pacemakers.
The following examples are presented to enable those skilled in the art to understand and to practice embodiments of the present disclosure. They should not be considered as a limitation on the scope of the disclosure, but merely as being illustrative and representative thereof.
The following section describes an example implementation of a method of performing intracorporeal imaging while locating a secondary intracorporeal device via ultrasound scanning. Primary intracorporeal ultrasonic probe 100 is placed into the patient's body and navigated to an organ or region of interest (for example, the heart). As described above, primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 is electrically connected to control and processing system 200 that controls the 2D and 3D scanning of the primary intracorporeal ultrasonic probe 100 and the display of the received ultrasonic echo energy on the screen of the primary system.
According to the present example embodiment, primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 has an ultrasonic imaging device (that consists of one or more ultrasonic imaging transducers in a known relative position and orientation configuration with respect to each other) that is configured to generate ultrasonic imaging energy (e.g. an acoustic imaging waveform) and ultrasonic communication energy (e.g. an acoustic communication waveform).
The ultrasonic communication energy is temporally triggered relative to the triggering of the ultrasonic imaging energy and the direction of propagation of the communication energy, which is referred to herein as the communication A-scan vector (or the communication A-scan, communication a-line, or communication vector), is spatially known relative to the direction of propagation of the imaging energy (also referred to as the imaging A-scan vector (or imaging A-scan, imaging a-line or imaging vector).
In the present example embodiment, primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 is controlled by the control and processing system to generate both 2D and 3D ultrasonic imaging scans. A secondary intracorporeal device is placed into the patient's body and is arbitrarily positioned and oriented in relation to primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100.
The secondary intracorporeal device is equipped with one or more ultrasonic beacon transducers (also referred to as beacon transducers, or beacons) that are electrically connected to a secondary control and processing system (also referred to as a secondary system). This secondary control and processing system may be electrically isolated from the control and processing system or may be electrically connected to the control and processing system or may be physically integrated within the primary system). Each of the beacon transducers may be sensitive to its own range of ultrasonic operational frequencies for means of ultrasonic communication with primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 (it is preferred that these beacon transducers have a broadband ultrasonic response and that the set of transducers covers as wide an ultrasonic acceptance angle as possible—this lends itself to polymer piezoelectric devices, but is not limited to just polymers). These beacons may operate with their own power supply, they may be wirelessly powered through inductive, ultrasonic or other energy harvesting means. The beacons may operate in an ultrasonic echo backscatter mode whereby demodulation techniques may be used to detect the presence of the ultrasonic echo backscatter waveform.
The secondary device is then moved such that its enclosure enters the scanning three-dimensional volume (also referred to as the Imaging Field of View) of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100. If none of the beacons are within the Imaging Field of View of the primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100, then any 2-way ultrasonic imaging interaction between primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 and secondary instrument is passive, and the secondary instrument may or may not be easily visible in the 2D and 3D images generated by the primary system. Visibility will depend on the relative orientation of the imaging A-scans originating from the device and the secondary instrument and the nature of the reflections and scattering of the transmitted imaging signal.
If at least one of the beacons is within either the imaging or the communication Field of View of the primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100, then an active ultrasonic communication link can be established by means of the operations performed by the secondary and primary control and processing systems. This link may be via: (I) an electrical path between the secondary system and the primary system, or (II) an ultrasonic path between the individual beacons that receive the transmitted ultrasonic waveforms from primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 and retransmit a communication signal back towards primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100.
The system of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 receives ultrasonic imaging and communication information (by either said means of establishing an active communication link). The content of the imaging and communication information, via either the electrical path or the ultrasonic path, or both, may temporally coincide with the receipt of several imaging A-scan vectors (which are related both spatially and temporally to each other) and, for the case of the signals received along the ultrasonic path, may be of a different operational frequency and more generally of a different temporal waveform than what was initially transmitted by primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100.
For information received along the ultrasonic path, the control and processing system will filter and parse the received imaging and communication energy as required (spatially and temporally) and add a distinctive and visually appropriate signal (for example: a greyscale intensity profile or a coloured intensity profile) into the 2D and 3D imaging data presented to the user to help the user localize the secondary instrument.
The system of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100, based on said filtered and parsed imaging and communication energy and information communicated via electrical paths between the primary and secondary intracorporeal devices may control the triggering and direction of subsequent A-scan vectors 115 (as shown in
This intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging system makes use of ultrasound signals and waveforms being generated by an ultrasound imaging transducer (acting as both transmitter and receiver) within a primary intracorporeal device or catheter. The ultrasound imaging transducer is in communication with a control and processing system that controls the timing of the transmitted signals, interprets received ultrasound signals (by means of amplifying, filtering, sampling and signal processing) and displays information on a display monitor for the user. The use of ASICs and switches for multiplexing in the event that more than one transducer stack is used within the primary device is also conceived. Although these components may be located within the probe body, they may also be provided within the primary processing and control system.
In transmit mode, the ultrasound imaging transducer generates and delivers ultrasonic energy along imaging vectors or A-scan directions, as well as ultrasound signals and waveforms along communication vectors that are of a fixed angle relative to the imaging A-scans and are of a known temporal relationship relative to the triggering of said imaging A-scans. This known temporal relationship is managed by the control and processing system 200 of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100. This intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging system also makes use of ultrasonic beacon transducers that are integrated with secondary intracorporeal instruments, where the beacon transducers are ultrasonically responsive to a portion of the ultrasonic signals and waveforms associated with the imaging transducer of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100, this includes imaging and ultrasonic communication signals transmitted from primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100. The beacon transducers are in communication with a secondary system associated with the secondary intracorporeal device. The secondary system is able to respond to the received ultrasonic communication signals in a manner that allows the control and processing system to utilize this response to identify the location and orientation of the secondary intracorporeal device within the 2D and 3D displayed image data.
The control and processing system controls the scanning and timing of ultrasonic transmission of the ultrasound imaging transducer in order to generate a set of A-scans. The set of A-scans defines one or more ultrasound Fields of View whereby the imaging transducer emits ultrasonic energy intended for more than one purpose. A first purpose is for imaging and a second purpose is for communication. The ultrasound band of frequencies used for imaging is referred to as the imaging band. The ultrasound band of frequencies used for communication is referred to as the communication band. These bands are independent of each other and may overlap in whole or in part or not at all.
By directing the orientation of successive A-scans, the control and processing system is able to define a 2D or 3D Field of View from within the body.
According to one example embodiment, the functional link between primary and secondary intracorporeal devices, controlled by the primary and secondary systems, consists of:
a) A timing clock used to trigger and control the time interval between transmitting imaging and ultrasonic communication signals during a system controlled sweep of imaging A-scans that make up the 2D area or 3D volume that is being ultrasonically interrogated.
b) The transmitting of a directed ultrasonic imaging energy. The electrical transmit signal used to generate the ultrasonic imaging energy having a characteristic temporal waveform that may be a single cycle, a number of cycles defining a tone burst, a modulated tone bursts, or a continuous wave. Each of these types of waveforms can be described by a transmit operational center frequency.
c) The transmitting of a directed ultrasonic communication signal. The electrical transmit signal used to generate the ultrasonic communication energy having a characteristic temporal waveform that may be a single cycle, a number of cycles defining a tone burst, or a continuous wave. Each of these types of waveforms can be described by a transmit operational center frequency.
d) The receiving of said directed ultrasonic waveforms by a beacon transducer on a secondary intracorporeal device that is positioned within either the imaging or the communication three-dimensional volume of the ultrasonic imaging device of the primary.
e) The issuing of a response to said received directed ultrasonic waveform by the system of the secondary instrument intended to be received by the system of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100. The response may be issued by means of an electronic signal through one or more wires from the secondary instrument to the system of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100, through one or more wires from the system of the secondary instrument to the system of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100, or by means of an ultrasonic response initiated by the beacon transducer directed back to the transducer stack or stacks in primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100. Of these three configurations, the first two can be considered as a one-way active ultrasonic communication link and the third considered as a bidirectional active ultrasonic communication link.
For primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probes where the directional imaging A-scans of the imaging transducer are able to cover a 3-dimensional volume and the position and direction of each A-scan is known relative to the longitudinal axis and transverse plane of the intracorporeal device (for example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,214,010) and whereby the 3D imaging volume includes forward viewing A-scans as well as more sideways viewing A-scans (where the component of the A-scan vector in line with the longitudinal axis is larger than the component of the vector in the transverse plane, and where the component of the A-scan vector in line with the longitudinal axis is smaller than the component of the vector in the transverse plane respectively), then the need for omnidirectional transducers within primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100, for means of triangulation to a positional reference frame that can be expressed in relation to the imaging transducer for means of defining the orientation of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 relative to the secondary instrument is not required.
The ultrasonic imaging device of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 may be made of a single transducer stack construction. More than one active piezoelectric layer may be electrically connected to a single electrical channel (e.g. a single coaxial cable), as described in PCT Patent Application No. PCT/CA2012/050057, titled “ULTRASONIC PROBE WITH ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCERS ADDRESSABLE ON COMMON ELECTRICAL CHANNEL”. This may be achieved, for example, via pivots as shown in
In one example implementation, when two transducer stack constructions for multiple ultrasound transmitters are used in the primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100, a triaxial or twin axial cable may be used in lieu of a single coaxial cable to electrically connect said stack constructions with the added benefit of isolating the different RF signal paths while maintaining a small profile electrical wiring harness through the body of the intracorporeal device. If two transducer stack constructions are used, then it would be preferred that the stack constructions are mounted on a rigid assembly to maintain a fixed orientation between the directional transmitted ultrasonic waveforms generated by both transmitters, otherwise some sort of geodesic sensor or system could be used to correct for the variation in the relative directions of the transmitted ultrasonic waveforms.
The use of a single stack construction for the ultrasonic imaging device of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 is preferred in order to maintain a consistent directional relationship between the Imaging A-scans and the communication A-scans and has an added benefit that the intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging system can be realized without the need of multiplexing electrical signals within primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 or the need for additional wires within the catheter construction. The imaging transmitter assembly may have more than one ultrasonically active layer within the structure. These ultrasonically active structures can be made of piezoelectric materials such as piezoelectric ceramics, piezoelectric ceramic and epoxy composite structures, piezoelectric single crystals, relaxor single crystal, relaxor ceramics, relaxor composite structures in a polymer matrix, or polymer piezoelectric layers such as PVDF or PVDF copolymers like P(VDF-TRFE), and can also be conceived of using CMUT and PMUT devices as well).
Due to the confined nature of the intracorporeal devices involved, the aperture size of the transmitting transducer of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 is limited. For an unfocussed transducer stack of a given aperture, the diffraction of the ultrasonic beam profile is less when the operational ultrasonic transmit frequency is higher, as shown in
At higher frequencies, ultrasound energy is more readily attenuated in tissue. However, if the active the ultrasonic communication link is completed by means of an electrical wire from the beacon or from the secondary system back to the primary system, as shown in
Alternatively, the distances achievable for an active communication link can be increased by reducing the effects of ultrasound attenuation if the active ultrasonic communication link is completed by the beacon transducer sensing incoming ultrasound communication energy and the secondary system receives the incoming waveforms and transmits new ultrasonic communication energy that is intended to be received by the transducer of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100. This is a bidirectional ultrasonic communication link wherein the intensity of the received electronic signal from the portion of the transducer stack construction intended to receive the ultrasonic communication energy will be stronger than if the communication was a two-way ultrasonic communication link resulting from the passive echo of the original ultrasonic communication energy bouncing off of the secondary instrument. In the case of the bidirectional ultrasonic communication path, the operating frequency and the temporal waveform of the return ultrasonic communication signal may be different than the initially transmitted ultrasonic communication energy.
It is further noted that although the example embodiments described above involve the use of a primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe that is configured to scan in three-dimensions while imaging, other example embodiments may involve two-dimensional scanning while imaging for the locating of a secondary device. For example, if it is known that a two-dimensional device lies within an imaging plane associated with a two-dimensional scanning imaging probe, then the methods disclosed herein may be employed to locate the secondary device in the two-dimensional plane.
The following examples are presented to enable those skilled in the art to understand and to practice embodiments of the present disclosure. They should not be considered as a limitation on the scope of the disclosure, but merely as being illustrative and representative thereof.
For simplicity, the ultrasound beam profile for each imaging and communication A-scan is considered to be a fine line generated by a small aperture and the effects of diffraction are ignored.
Primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 emits a broadband imaging ultrasonic waveform with an operational frequency of 10 MHz. Primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 houses a single element flat transducer stack with a tilt angle that depends on rotational speed and is rotating with a constant rotational speed such that the transducer tilt angle relative to the longitudinal axis of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 is fixed and the A-scan is fixed at 15 degrees relative to the longitudinal axis. The transducer is pulsing at a given pulse repetition frequency (PRF) and is therefore scanning a 2D image cone with a fixed cone angle of 15 degrees. This imaging energy is simultaneously used as an ultrasonic communication transmitted waveform. The waveform is sensed by a beacon transducer on a secondary instrument that is sensitive to 10 MHz ultrasonic energy. The beacon signal is received by the secondary instrument system and notification of the receipt of the ultrasonic energy is communicated to the control and processing system via a wire or cable using a defined communication protocol.
Primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 emits a broadband imaging ultrasonic waveform with an operational frequency of 10 MHz. Primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 houses a linear array transducer stack such that the elevation axis of the linear array is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the catheter and the 2D image plane of the array extends radially outwards relative to the transverse plane of the catheter. By phasing the transmit signals to the elements of the array, ultrasonic energy can be directed in A-scans that range from a preferentially forward looking direction to a preferentially backwards looking direction. By means of manual, electrical or robotic control, the catheter can be rotated in an alternating clockwise and anticlockwise fashion that defines a back and forth rocking motion. The largest three dimensional volume can be achieved when the rocking motion subtends 360 degrees>. If the rocking motion subtends less than 360 degrees then only a portion of the largest possible said 3D volume will be imaged. The timing between the phasing of the array elements and the rotational motion will determine the sequence of imaging A-scans used to sweep through the 3D volume. This imaging energy is simultaneously used as an ultrasonic communication transmitted waveform. The waveform is sensed by a beacon transducer on a secondary instrument that is sensitive to 10 MHz ultrasonic energy. The Beacon signal is received by the secondary instrument system and notification of the receipt of the ultrasonic energy is communicated to the control and processing system via a wire or cable using a defined communication protocol.
Other orientations of linear arrays are possible such as linear arrays that are in plane with the transverse plane of the catheter (the cross section of the catheter) or curvilinear arrays that are wrapped around a circumference that fits within the catheter.
Primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 emits a broadband imaging ultrasonic waveform with an operational frequency of 10 MHz and the useful imaging bandwidth is between 7-13 MHz. Primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 houses a single element flat transducer stack that is rotating in a manner consistent with what was described in Example 1 however instead of a fixed rotational speed, the motion is a defined ramp of rotational speed from an initial value of 20 rps to a final value of 70 rps, such that the transducer tilt angle relative to the longitudinal axis of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 varies from an initially sideways A-scan perspective to a final forward viewing A-scan perspective. The transducer is pulsing at a given PRF and is therefore directing imaging A-scans in a spiral manner that results in the scanning of a 3D image volume. It will be understood that the device may be configured to ramp the rotational speed, and thus ramp the rotational angle, up or down. This imaging energy is simultaneously used as an ultrasonic communication transmit waveform. The secondary instrument is positioned such that the waveform is sensed by more than one beacon transducer on a secondary instrument, where each beacon transducer is preferred to be broadband in nature (for example: a polymer PVDF device). Each beacon signal is received by the secondary instrument system and each beacon emits a narrowband response that is a combination of an operational frequency and a tone burst with a specific number of cycles (For example: consider 3 beacons that emit tone bursts of 8 cycles with an operational frequency of 8 MHz, 12 cycles with an operational frequency of 10 MHz, and 8 cycles with an operational frequency of 12 MHz respectively). The ultrasonic response of the primary transducer stack is also sensitive to receive at each of the beacon operational frequencies and thus primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 system will be receiving 10 MHz imaging echoes from the backscattering of the tissue and will receive a different narrowband signal at a Time of Flight that is equivalent to the relative two-way distance between the primary transducer stack and each of the activated beacons attached to the secondary instrument plus a small delay equal to the latent response of the secondary system for each of the activated beacons. The detection of one or more of the operational frequencies associated with any of the beacons will indicate that a secondary instrument is present within the imaging field of view of the primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100. The combination of all of the received communication signals will permit a better determination of the orientation of the secondary instrument relative to primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100. This detection will occur within the individual temporal windows of each of the directional imaging A-scans.
Primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 emits a broadband imaging energy with an operational frequency of 10 MHz. Primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 is rotating with a constant rotational speed in a manner consistent with what was described in Example 1, such that the transducer tilt angle relative to the longitudinal axis of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 is fixed and the A-scan is fixed at 40 degrees relative to the longitudinal axis. The transducer stack is pulsing at a given PRF and is therefore scanning a 2D image cone with a cone angle of 40 degrees relative to the longitudinal axis of the primary catheter. The transducer stack of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 is also simultaneously emitting a more narrowband ultrasonic communication energy (a tone burst of say 8 cycles) with an operational frequency of 30 MHz with the same PRF and with Os time lag relative to the imaging energy such that the imaging and communication waveforms are superimposed. The ultrasonic communication energy is transmitted in at least three principle directions by means of an ultrasonically active diffraction grating embedded within the primary transducer stack. One of the three ultrasonic communication direction vectors is parallel and coincident with the imaging A-scan of the 2D image cone and the other two are in directions that both lead and lag the imaging A-scan by an angle of +24.6 degrees and −24.6 degrees respectively and also lie on the surface of the 2D image cone. The secondary instrument is a straight instrument and is positioned in a manner relative to the primary catheter such that the instrument is tangential to the 2D image cone and only the ‘leading’ ultrasonic communication pulse at +24.6 degrees is incident on the secondary intracorporeal device and a beacon happens to be positioned at the location of incidence. The beacon signal is received by the system of the secondary instrument and a 30 MHz operational frequency tone burst of 12 cycles is retransmitted by the same beacon. The primary transducer stack, which is sensitive to receive at both 10 and 30 MHz operational frequencies, will be receiving imaging echoes at 10 MHz and will detect a 30 MHz ultrasonic waveform that does not coincide with a similar imaging echo (unless by chance there is tissue at an equal time of flight distance away along the imaging A-scan vector with a large enough change of acoustic impedance to emit a noticeable echo different than the background scattering level). After a time interval of a plurality imaging A-scan vectors (the temporal relation is dependent on the PRF and the rotational speed of the transducer), the transducer will have rotated such that the direction of the imaging A-scan is now approximately 24.6 degrees from the initial imaging A-scan vector in this example. At this moment in time, the primary transducer will receive an imaging echo and an ultrasonic communication energy (that lags by the time delay in the secondary system to process the received 30 MHz waveform and transmit the response waveform). After a second interval of a plurality A-scan vectors, the transducer has rotated such that the imaging vector is now 24.6 degrees ‘ahead’ of the secondary instrument. The primary transducer, which is sensitive to receive at both 10 and 30 MHz will be receiving imaging echoes at 10 MHz and will detect a 30 MHz ultrasonic signal that does not coincide with a similar imaging echo. This sequence of events, as sensed within a set of received RF lines of the intended 2D image cone helps to confirm the existence of a beacon device within the field of view of the primary imaging device. This example can be extended to consider a 3D imaging volume by ramping the rotational speed of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 and thus sweeping through a range of cone angles. For cone angles larger than 40 degrees, each ultrasonic A-scan will be incident on the secondary instrument twice. The second location of incidence may or may not coincide with a beacon. For cone angles smaller than 40 degrees, none of the ultrasonic A-scans will be incident on the secondary instrument. By correlating the timing of events with the spatial knowledge of each imaging A-scan of each event (an event being the identification of either a passive imaging echo from the secondary intracorporeal device or the identification of an active ultrasonic communication signal by either an electrical wire or an acoustic path all of which originating from the secondary intracorporeal device), the position and orientation of the secondary intracorporeal device can be identified.
The positional configuration of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 and secondary instrument of the preceding example is revisited with primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 emitting a broadband imaging energy with an operational frequency of 10 MHz. Primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 is also simultaneously emitting a more narrowband ultrasonic communication energy of operating frequency of 30 MHz with 20 cycles with the same PRF and with a time lag of 40 usec, which, if propagating in water, translates into about a 6 cm 1-way distance lag between the imaging energy and the ultrasonic communication energy. The beacon transducer and secondary system is configured to operate in an ultrasonic Echo Backscatter mode. A beacon transducer used in this manner is being operated in a semi-passive mode. The ultrasound communication is established by a standard backscatter modulation similar to a radio-frequency identification device. Backscatter modulation can result from changing the impedance of the beacon transducer by means of a switch that either shorts the electrical impedance of the beacon transducer or leaves the beacon transducer at its natural electrical impedance. For a more detailed explanation, one can refer to the published paper by Mari et al. “Doppler detection of deeply implanted impedance-switching devices Using Ultrasound Doppler” published in IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, vol. 60, no. 6, Pages 1074-183 June 2013.
In this example, switching frequency of 13 MHz between open and shorted states of the beacon transducer is used. This will result in an amplitude modulated return signal that contains 8.67 periods of modulation. This modulated signal, at 30 MHz would be detected when each of the diffraction lobes of the diffraction grating are directed towards the beacon device. The echo backscatter would not be detected by the imaging energy when the imaging energy is directed towards the beacon since the pulse duration of the imaging energy is shorter than the period of the switching mechanism of the beacon echo backscattering circuitry.
The actual choice of imaging and ultrasonic communication operational frequencies will depend on different parameters. For example, when considering the intended use of the primary and secondary intracorporeal devices, there may be preferential relative distances and orientations that have a higher likelihood of occurring and this may impact the choice of using a flat or curved transducer. In addition, the actual beam profile of the transducer of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 will depend on the medium that is being imaged (attenuation and scattering will alter the beam profile).
To demonstrate these design choices, a simple beam profile equation can be used to demonstrate the principle involved for a flat transducer, as illustrated in
For example, an ICE imaging system that displays imaging data for a depth of up to 6 cm and utilizes a primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe with a flat transducer that has an aperture of 2 mm in diameter and an imaging operational frequency of 10 MHz would have a −6 dB beam profile of about 9 mm in diameter at a depth of 6 cm. This is in contrast to an ultrasonic communication signal in the range of 20-30 MHz, with an equivalent 2 mm aperture which would have a beam profile of about 5-3 mm in diameter respectively. The shape of the aperture of the flat transducer can be circular, elliptical, square, rectangular, or some other arbitrary shape that can be patterned by material processes that are either additive or subtractive in nature, however for simplicity, a circular aperture is considered here.
In the following section, three example embodiments of ultrasound imaging transducer stacks provided as exemplary concepts for the ultrasonic imaging device of the primary intracorporeal ultrasonic probe that can be used to realize the transmission and reception of the ultrasonic signals used for the ultrasonic communication band of the embodiments of this invention. Specific examples of each concept will follow where the configuration of the electrical leads of the transducer stack are presented in a manner that permits all exemplary transducer stacks to be integrated into a 10 French catheter of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,214,010. These examples are not limited to 10 French and can be used in smaller and larger sized catheters typically used to house imaging transducers in the 4-100 MHz range and in hand held ultrasound probes that can range from 0.5-100 MHz. All of the specific examples apply the usual rules in transducer stack design known by individuals skilled in the art, where matching layers are ¼ of an operational wavelength in thickness based on the speed of sound of the material and the piezoelectric layer thickness ranges between ¼ and ½ of an operational wavelength and is determined based on the mass loading of the piezoelectric layer due to the acoustic impedance of the adjacent layers. The thickness of the backing will be limited due to space constraints within primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100.
The following section describes three example single-stack ultrasound transducer configurations:
(i) A baseline imaging stack using a single piezoelectric layer with matching and backing layers used to create a reasonable bandwidth for imaging purposes. In this case, the imaging transmit pulse may also be used as the communication signal, or a portion of the imaging bandwidth of the piezoelectric layer may be used to generate a characteristic communication signal. Other resonant modes or harmonics of the piezoelectric layer may also be used.
(ii) A modified imaging stack where the single piezoelectric layer is replaced with an active piezoelectric layer and an ultrasonically heavy support, which may be an unpoled piezoelectric layer or a passive layer of comparable acoustic impedance (such as a metal, or any other ceramic or single crystal (lithium niobate, unpoled PMN-PT, etc. . . . ) to the active piezoelectric layer. A stack of this nature can preserve the original imaging band of the transducer while creating an additional resonant frequency band that can be utilized for communication. The electrode aperture of the two frequency bands are identical.
(iii) A dual piezoelectrically active imaging stack where one of the ultrasonic coupling layers (i.e. matching layers) is a thin piezoelectric layer. Due to size constraints within the primary intracorporeal device, it is preferred that the additional piezoelectric layer share common electrodes with the imaging piezoelectric layer such that both layers are electrically connected in parallel with each other and can be electrically driven by the means of a single electrical connection to the stack. It is noted that the ultrasonic coupling layers may be of a quarter wavelength design or of a mass-spring type design. A stack of this nature can preserve the original imaging band of the transducer while creating an additional resonant frequency band, with an independent aperture that can be utilized for communication.
On top of the active piezoelectric layer 410 are two matching layers where each matching layer is ¼ wavelength thick relative to the desired operational frequency. The first matching layer 415 can be made of electrically conductive epoxy and the second layer 420 is made of non-conductive epoxy. The ultrasonic impedance of the first matching layer 415 was increased to about 8 Mrayls from the value of about 5.9 Mrayl used in the baseline imaging transducer stack and was necessary to help maintain a similar ultrasonic excitation response as said baseline imaging transducer stack. The increased acoustic impedance can be achieved, for example by adding some tungsten powder to the silver epoxy (or alternatively, the top metal electrode can be made thicker (0.6-1.5 um in thickness) and a tungsten loaded or alumina loaded non-conductive epoxy mixture can be used). On the bottom face of the transducer, a conductive epoxy layer is used as a backing layer 425. The backing layer 425 is of finite thickness such that the total thickness of the transducer fits inside the catheter. On the left side of the piezoelectric there exists a vertical dielectric layer 430 with a further vertical electrically conductive epoxy layer 435 that defines the outer face of the transducer. The dielectric layer 430 provides electrical isolation between the bottom and top faces of the piezoelectric layer 410 and allows for electrical connection to the transducer stack from the left and right side of the stack.
The baseline imaging stack shows two resonant peaks at frequencies below 50 MHz with a fundamental resonance in the 9-10 MHz range and a 3rd harmonic in the 34-38 MHz range. The modified imaging transducer 400 shows three peaks at frequencies below 50 MHz with a pair of resonances below 25 MHz (in the 8-12 MHz and 20-25 MHz range) related to the interaction of the two PZT layers (410 and 412) and the fundamental resonance of the active PZT. The electrical impedance at these resonant frequencies are each better matched to 50 Ohms than the fundamental in the baseline imaging stack and, in this case, will allow for a better electrical transfer of energy from the transmitter to the electrical load of the transducer. The ratio of the thicknesses of the poled 410 and ‘unpoled’ PZT 412 can be in the range of 1.5-4 and will result in a determined pair of resonant frequencies. The actual ratio of the simulated response of the stack is 2.8. As the ratio changes so do the determined pair of resonant frequencies. The higher resonance is intended to be used for ultrasonic communication and in the event of a bidirectional ultrasonic communication link, the operational frequency of the transmitted beacon waveform should be equal. The use of memory on primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 allows for the actual pair of frequencies to be stored and the use of a broadband beacon transducer can be used to accommodate the variation in the range of the ratio of poled 410 to unpoled 412 PZT. The third frequency is in the range of 42-46 MHz.
The same simulation is extended, in
Some of the ultrasonic parameters of the 1-way excitation response for both stacks are summarized in
The metal electrodes of the polymer layer 518 are electrically connected to the electrodes of the imaging transducer such that the piezoelectric layers are electrically in parallel with each other. This requires an additional pair of vertical layers 540 and 545, both an inner dielectric layer and an outer conductive layer, similar to the existing pair described in the baseline imaging stack. The additional pair of vertical layers can be at an angle relative to the initial pair of vertical layers. For simplicity, the additional pair of vertical layers are shown to be perpendicular to the original pair. The additional vertical dielectric layer 540 does not extend all the way through the backing layer to allow for the top electrode of the PVDF to be in electrical communication with the bottom electrode of the PZT. In this configuration, the electric field applied across the PZT will be opposite in direction to the electric field applied across the polymer 518.
A metal foil bridge 560, that is soldered or glued with conductive epoxy to the top electrode of the polymer, electrically connects the top electrode of the polymer piezoelectric to the second outermost electrically conductive layer. This can be seen in the expanded detail to the right of the figure. This bridge could equally be formed by vacuum deposition techniques such as evaporation or sputtering or with conductive epoxy (an equivalent example 660 is shown in the detail A of
Some of the ultrasonic parameters of the 2-way excitation response for both stacks are summarized in
The dual piezoelectrically active transducer stack 500 provides the additional option of patterning the top electrode of the PVDF layer to define a diffraction grating structure. The use a grating structure allows for more than one direction of ultrasonic communication and for directions that are fixed relative to the ultrasonic imaging A-scans that are created by the lower frequency PZT piezoelectric layer. Linear and 2D diffraction gratings are possible. For simplicity, the case of 2D diffraction shall be discussed towards the end of the document.
An example of the top electrode pattern 650 for the PVDF is shown within
The device will behave in a manner similar to a linear array where all elements are electrically driven with 0 degrees of phase. The plane of the patterned metal electrode has two principle axes. The axis parallel to the length of the metal strips is referred to as the elevation axis, and the axis perpendicular to the elevation axis is referred to as the azimuth axis.
There is no beam forming capability as this is a single element device. Given the center to center spacing between nearest neighbouring metal strips, there are angles (alpha) where constructive interference occurs. This can be seen in
Although not shown, the dual piezoelectrically active transducer stack can also be implemented using a heavier piezoelectric material that is incorporated into the first matching layer in a manner consistent with the principles described above. For such a transducer stack, the first matching layer would be a combined layer of a heavy conductive metal layer (for example silver epoxy or plated gold on top of the thin electrode connected to the top surface of the imaging piezoelectric layer) and a second heavy piezoelectric (made from PZT, porous PZT, PZT/epoxy composite materials of a controlled acoustic impedance to match the electrically conductive layer below, other piezoelectric ceramics and composites using lithium niobate, relaxor materials, etc. . . . ). The metal bridge would still be located under the second matching layer. The top matching layer could now be a single phase material of a specific acoustic impedance suitable for coupling the imaging signals and waveforms out of the stack. It is also conceived that the matching layers that are not build up with an active piezoelectric layer can also be made with graduated acoustic impedance that varies along its thickness axis and such a graduated matching layer design can be applied to any of the presented stack concepts and examples.
To explore the relationship of the diffraction grating electrode pattern with angles of constructive interference, consider a diffraction grating transducer designed to operate at 30 MHz. If the spacing (d) between metalized strips is 120 um and the gap between the strips is 60 um then the first lobe of constructive interference is 24.6 degrees for a propagating medium of blood. The gap between the electrodes is a little more than a wavelength which is 52 um at 30 MHz in blood.
The geometric design and transmit conditions of the diffraction grating provide an angular dependent behaviour of the diffraction grating beam that can be taken advantage of in 3D imaging to actively communicate with the set of beacon sensors of a secondary instrument as a function of imaging A-scan orientation and time.
The orientation of the diffraction grating can be defined relative to the scanning direction of the imaging transducer. If the elevation axis is perpendicular to the scanning direction of the imaging transducer, then the grating lobes can provide an early indication of the presence of the secondary instrument. This configuration was described in example 4. If the elevation axis is parallel to the scanning direction of the imaging transducer, then the grating lobes (other than the normal lobe) are off axis relative to the scanning plane and provide additional opportunities to identify beacon transducers attached to secondary instruments.
The orientation of the diffraction gratings 650 and 750 shown in
In contrast, the orientation of the diffraction grating 850 shown in
With respect to the catheter of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,214,010, the elevation axis parallel to the scanning direction is of special interest because the grating lobes will define additional effective tilt angles for ultrasonic communication that, in general, follow cones of small and larger angles than the imaging cone angle. This means that when the tilt angle of the imaging transducer is swept to create a spiral 3D scan, beacons beyond the range of the imaged 3D volume can still be detected by means of ultrasonic communication. This is a preferred orientation for the grating lobes. This configuration is shown in
Primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 emits a broadband imaging energy with an operational frequency of 10 MHz. Primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 is rotating with a constant rotational speed such that the transducer tilt angle relative to the longitudinal axis of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 is fixed and the A-scan is fixed at 40 degrees relative to the longitudinal axis. The transducer stack is pulsing at a given PRF and is therefore scanning a 2D image cone of a fixed angle of 40 degrees relative to the longitudinal axis of the primary catheter. The transducer stack of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 is also simultaneously emitting a more narrowband ultrasonic communication energy (a tone burst of 14 cycles) with an operational frequency of 30 MHz with the same PRF and with Os time lag relative to the imaging energy. The ultrasonic communication energy is transmitted in at least three principle directions by means of a piezoelectrically active diffraction grating embedded within the primary transducer stack. (For the sake of simplicity, the rest of this example will only consider 3 principle directions: the −1, 0, +1 directions). One of the three ultrasonic communication direction vectors is parallel and coincident with each imaging A scan of the 2D image cone and the other two are in directions that are equivalent to an effective transducer tilt angle of 40+24.6=64.6 degrees and 40−24.6=16.4 degrees respectively. This means that the ultrasonic communication signals simultaneously scan three 2D cones at once.
The secondary instrument is positioned in a manner relative to the primary catheter such that a beacon is in the beam profile of the 64.6 degree cone and portions of the secondary instrument are also in the ultrasonic path of the 40 degree and 16.4 degree cones. The beacon signal is received by the system of the secondary instrument and a 30 MHz operational frequency tone burst of 20 cycles is transmitted. The primary transducer stack, which is sensitive to receive at both 10 and 30 MHz operational frequencies, will be receiving imaging echoes at 10 MHz and will detect an active bidirectional ultrasonic communication signal at 30 MHz. Depending on the actual relative orientation of the secondary instrument, the primary stack transducer may also receive passive echoes at 10 MHz and 30 MHz during subsequent imaging A-scans that coincide with the secondary instrument being in the ultrasonic path of the transmitted waveforms from primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100.
This example can be extended to consider a 3D imaging volume by ramping the rotational speed of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100. The system, controlling primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100, can keep track of the A-scans where active ultrasonic communication signals are detected and can cross reference these events to determine which one of the grating lobes communicated with each beacon that was present in the 3D imaging scan and can more effectively determine the location and orientation of the secondary instrument than by relying on the imaging A-scans alone. The control and processing system can then optionally redirect the imaging transducer to scan through a subset of the 3D imaging volume to sample the active communication events more frequently and therefore better determine the relative position of the secondary intracorporeal device if the device is stationary, or track the movement of the secondary instrument if it is being manipulated by the user. Furthermore, in one example embodiment, the subset of the 3D imaging volume may be a 2D plane that includes the position of the secondary intracorporeal device.
It is noted that with the diffraction grating oriented in this manner, there are a few special cases where the diffraction grating maps out less than 3 cones. If the imaging transducer is tilted such that the imaging A-scan angle is equal to 24.6 degrees from the longitudinal axis of the catheter then one diffraction lobe will be pointed straight forward, parallel to the longitudinal axis of the primary catheter, and the other two lobes will map out cones of angles 24.6 an 49.2 degrees. If the imaging A-scan angle is 12.3 degrees then two of the diffraction lobes will map out a cone of angle 12.3 degrees and the third will map out a cone of angle 36.9 degrees. If the imaging A-scan angle is 0 degrees, then the central lobe will be pointing straight forward and the other two lobes will map out a cone of half angle 24.6 degrees.
The diffracting grating concept can be broadened to consider a 2D diffraction grating were an addition set of metal bars are patterned in conjunction with (or on top of) the existing metal bars but at an angle relative to the existing metal bars (for example: at 90 degrees, but the angle may be less than 90. It should be noted that the angle of 0 degrees is not particularly useful as this is the same direction as the existing metal bars. A 2D grating structure would eliminate the need of differentiating between the said two principle orientations already described above through Examples 4, 5, 7, and 8 as well as shown in
By means of an EEPROM and permanent memory, it is possible to configure the parameters of the ultrasonic communication in advance of the intended use. A priori knowledge of the nature of the ultrasonic communication aids in the handshaking between the control systems associated with primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 and the secondary instrument. The ultrasonic communication can be defined by parameters that include, but are not limited to, the choice of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100's 1-way pulse excitation response (broadband or narrowband signals, amplitude or frequency modulated signals, the use of a DC offset in the excitation signal, etc.), the Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF) of the excitation, the nominal strength of the excitation of the transducer stack, or stacks, within primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100. The same is true for the intrinsic response of the beacon, or plurality of beacon transducers, in the secondary instrument and this includes the received and transmitted directional sensitivity of the beacon circuitry, the choice of operational frequencies of each beacon, the 1-way pulse excitation response, the location of each beacon on a secondary instrument and the spatial relationship between the beacons can all be known a priori. These parameters (and others) can be stored in memory and with the parameters of the communication band defined and accessible by the primary control system, they can be used to establish an active communication link between the primary catheter and the secondary instruments. This handshaking can help prevent misuse (or miscommunication) between devices or the misinterpretation of an arbitrary passive reflection.
The handshaking in the identification of the mode of communication can be communicated through a wire between the beacon attached to the secondary instrument and the system driving the imaging catheter. The handshaking can also be communicated ultrasonically by means of a characteristic response from the beacon that is detected in receive mode by the transducer in the imaging catheter. For example, the ultrasonic communication may exist between a primary catheter such as ICE imaging catheter with forward 3D imaging capabilities and an instrument with an optical or higher frequency ultrasonic imaging capability (that can generate a localized ROI of higher resolution), or an instrument of therapeutic persuasion.
Multiple communication frequencies are possible since the ultrasonic communication link can be the result of two 1-way transmission waveforms as opposed to a single two-way transmission based on the transducer in primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100.
For example, two different communication frequencies may be used to simultaneously communicate with two secondary instruments along two different ultrasonic propagation vectors, or one communication operational frequency may be used in Transmit mode of the primary catheter and each beacon of the secondary instrument may transmit with its own ultrasonic waveform signature.
In order for ultrasonic communication to take place, an ultrasonic beacon needs to be positioned within the Field of View of the primary imaging transducer stack. The beacon may be attached to another device as a standalone accessory that requires external wireless power. This wireless power transfer may be by electromagnetic means in the form of inductive coupling or by means of ultrasonic coupling at yet another operational ultrasonic frequency. This ultrasonic harvesting frequency would preferably operate at frequencies of <10 MHz as most likely the ultrasonic device providing the ultrasonic energy would be on the outside of the body and would need to penetrate fairly deep into the body to communicate with the standalone accessory. The outgoing communication link between the imaging transducer and the beacon is a directed ultrasonic beam.
In some embodiments, non-directional ultrasonic transponders can be included in primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 for means of establishing a global reference frame, or for other applications. However, it is noted that such non-directional ultrasonic transponders are not required to identify the presence of, and to locate the position of secondary instruments. The incoming communication link may be ultrasonic or may be electric or both.
The ultrasonic communication signal shall be a directional ultrasonic beam that shall be oriented in a direction relative to the imaging direction. This direction may be substantially the same as the imaging direction and in this case, preferably in line with the imaging direction, or it may be along a determined direction that differs from the imaging direction.
A bidirectional ultrasonic communication link may be realized with a beacon that is linked to an external controller over a wire or a fibre optic cable. In this configuration, the beacon receives an ultrasonic signal, the received signal is amplified and brought external to the patient where a controller senses the received signal as a trigger to transmit a characteristic echo signal in return. This characteristic echo signal shall be directed back towards the original imaging signal. The latency in the response of the beacon receiving the signal and then transmitting the return echo can be kept minimal as most of this signal processing takes place in the electrical domain at time scales much faster than ultrasonic propagation.
Multiple beacons can be differentiated by different characteristic signals or waveforms. This differentiation can be used to identify the spatial location of the beacon that has been triggered. Each beacon may have its own wire or fibre or may share wires or fibre.
A group of more than one beacon transducer may be linked to the secondary control and processing system with the use of switches, impedance matching and electrical resonance tuning networks, and ASICs all for the multiplexing and amplifying signals. Although these components may be located within the secondary devices themselves, it will be understood that they may be included in the secondary processing and control system.
Beacon transducers can be made from piezoelectric materials such as piezoelectric ceramics, piezoelectric ceramic and epoxy composite structures, piezoelectric single crystals, relaxor single crystal, relaxor ceramics, relaxor composite structures in a polymer matrix, or polymer piezoelectric layers such as PVDF or PVDF copolymers like P(VDF-TRFE), and can also be made with CMUT and PMUT devices as well.
In some embodiments, a beacon ultrasonic transducer may be powered without requiring a connection to an external controller. This may be achieved, for example, with stored potential electric energy in the form of a battery or may be achieved with actively powering the beacon circuitry by electromagnetic or ultrasonic means. A transcutaneous powering of the beacon may be possible by inductive power or ultrasonic power, and the like. Ultrasonic power may be provided by an auxiliary transducer that is already connected to the control and processing system that controls the primary catheter.
Given that the initial 1-way ultrasonic communication beam is directional and the spatial and temporal characteristics of the ultrasonic communication energy is known relative to the imaging energy, the localization of the secondary instrument in an intracorporeal system of devices can occur without the need for omnidirectional transducers for triangulation (although the use of omnidirectional devices may still be used as beacons on the secondary instrument).
The example embodiments described in the present disclosure can be extended to include one or more beacon circuits attached to primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 that are in ultrasonic communication with an external tertiary ultrasound imaging probe.
Such an extension represents an example of the geodesic sensor or system required to correct for the variation in the relative directions of the transmitted ultrasonic waveforms if the beacon units are not mounted on a rigid assembly to maintain a fixed orientation between the ultrasonic devices.
The use of separate ultrasonic communication devices from the ultrasonic imaging transducer stack within the primary intracorporeal device is useful if the ultrasonic communication device is able to generate more than one ultrasonic communication A-scan. Such a configuration would help to define the orientation of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 relative to other devices (like the said tertiary device) that have established a communication link with primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100. For example, three polymer transducers, each one more distally positioned than the previous one that are embedded within the enclosure of the device such that the transmitter assembly remains stationary relative to the enclosure. This will aid in determining the orientation of primary intracorporeal ultrasonic imaging probe 100 relative to a secondary instrument with multiple beacons by means of triangulation. Another example is to have a single diffraction grating transducer embedded into the enclosure.
The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way of example, and it should be understood that these embodiments may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should be further understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of this disclosure.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/801,502, titled “ACTIVE LOCALIZATION AND VISUALIZATION OF MINIMALLY INVASIVE DEVICES USING ULTRASOUND” and filed on Mar. 15, 2013, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CA2014/050251 | 3/14/2014 | WO | 00 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61801502 | Mar 2013 | US |
