Patent ID: 6071242
Filing Date: 2000-06-06
Classification: A61B,G01F,G01S

Abstract:
A method of measuring volume flow in a vessel using an ultrasonic imaging device, said method comprising the steps of:positioning an ultrasonic transducer over the area of said vessel at an oblique angle relative to a vessel axis;scanning a longitudinal area of a vessel using a color Doppler imaging method such that an imaging plane is formed approximately through the center of said vessel;tabulating a number of color pixels along a line perpendicular to an axis of said transducer and spanning a height of said vessel and determining an observed cross-sectional area of said vessel using said number of color pixels;spatially averaging a frequency shift of said number of color pixels;computing a volume flow through said vessel from said observed cross-sectional diameter and said spatially averaged frequency shift said computing being independent of an angle of said transducer relative to said vessel; andtime averaging said volume flow over one or more integral cardiac cycles.