ACOUSTIC IMAGING CATHETER AND METHOD OF OPERATION

Abstract: An acoustical imaging catheter adapted to be used with a drive and control system wherein the system can be automatically advised to compensate for different characteristics of different acoustical imaging catheters used on the drive and control system. The catheter includes an elongated sheath (12) having a proximal end (7) and a distal end. A lumen is disposed within the sheath (12). A drive shaft (18) has an acoustic transducer disposed on the distal end thereof. The drive shaft and the transducer are disposed in the lumen of the sheath. An indicia bearing surface (2) is disposed on the sheath (12). The indicia bearing surface (2) is encoded with identification and characteristics especially related to the catheter and transducer. The indicia bearing surface is adapted to be read by a sensor associated with the control system to enable the control system to compensate for the identification and characteristics of the catheter being used.

Description: ACO U S TI C IMAGING CATHETER AND METHOD OF O PERATI ON Background of the Invention The present invention relates to acoustic imaging cat h eters employing a rotating transducer. The invention especially relates to acoustic imaging systems employing mechanically scanned ultrasound catheter transducers an d the consoles and hardware to drive them. The invention f urther relates to a method of using acoustic imaging catheters utilizing c h aracteristics individually encode d on the cathe ¬ ter. Description of the Prior A rt Ultrasoun d probe catheters that are proximally connect ¬ e d to a motor d rive and an electrical interface d evice are well known to the art. United States patent to C rowley et al., 4 , 95 1, 677 , discloses an ultrasound probe o f this type. A system utilizing such probes can accommodate a wi d e vari ¬ ety o f catheter types, frequencies and configurations. A lso, individual catheters within a type each have d i ff er ¬ ences w h ich are characteristic to the particular catheter b eing use d . I have found that not only must the d etails of the catheter type be noted but also the indivi d ual d if f er ¬ ences must b e noted and compensated for if the information generate d b y the probe is to have validity. Console a d just ¬ ments have to be made for variables such as image size, gain, frequency, rate of rotation and transmission power which are typically unique to a particular type, function or size of catheter and currently the operator must manually input specific data as to type and characteristics in or d er to obtain the desired image quality. Delays an d possibili ¬ ties of mistakes can be made when inputting such d ata. Moreover, the image settings in part are su b ject to an operator's expertise which can vary. Additionally, govern ¬ mental limits on acoustic power outputs must be controlle d an d limited for specific frequencies catheter types an d applications. Assurances that these settings are consis ¬ tently accurately established for each catheter is d esir ¬ able. Ordinarily, external ultrasound probes inclu d e a motor, a rotary transformer, a cable to a console, a rea d a b le eprom daisy chain or multi-pin diode array or other means to encode operating data needed to operate the console. C athe ¬ ter ultrasound probes, however, do not have an integral motor and cable to the console. They are connecte d to a motor unit that in turn is connected to the console. A uniform mechanical and electrical interface must b e mace between the motor and the catheter. Also, the catheter must be a single use disposable design of low cost so the a dd i ¬ tion of diodes, eproms, daisy chains or other hardware is prohibitively expensive, bulky or not flexible enough to encompass the large range of expected varieties o f cathe ¬ ters. Summary of the Invention Thus the primary object of the present invention is an inexpensive alternative to the various types of pro b e recog¬ nition requirements that is reliable and translatable to t h e console. According to the present invention, a motor driver is equipped with a LED on the periphery of its rotor. The LED is connected through the motor to a photodetector which is arranged with a light pipe so that light from the LE D can b e reflected from an opposing surface into a photo detector. The leads of the photodetector are brought through the motor and to a console. A motor cover is disposed in close prox¬ imity to a rotary transformer with a diode and detector assembly. A transparent window is provided in the cover an d is arranged in an arc corresponding with the path o f rota¬ tion and radius of the diode detector assembly. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the ultrasonic imag¬ ing catheter is of conventional design as shown in the above-mentioned Crowley et al. patent. A flared skirt or other readable surface is disposed at the proximal end of the catheter as an extension from a boot and serves as its base. Data relating to each catheter, for example, its type, size and use, is recorded on an indicia bearing sur¬ face disposed on the catheter. Also recorded can be charac¬ teristics of the catheter that are specific to itself. For example the frequency, band width, pulse length, reverbera¬ tion, required transient voltage, thermal impedance, and required motor scan speed can be recorded on the surface. Thus, data that previously was required to be either entere d into the console itself or had to be calibrated before use of the catheter can be encoded on the catheter itself thus eliminating these data entry steps and double calibration. The acoustical imaging catheter of the present inven¬ tion is used with a drive and control system wherein the system can be advised on how to compensate for differences between different acoustical imaging catheters used on the drive and control system. The catheter includes an elongat- ed sheath with a proximal and a distal end. A lumen is disposed in the sheath and a drive shaft having a proximal and a distal end is disposed in the lumen. An acoustic transducer is disposed on the distal end of the drive shaft and the drive shaft and transducer are disposed in the lumen. An indicia bearing surface is disposed on the sheath. The surface is encoded with characteristics and information especially related to the catheter. The surface is adapted to be read by a sensor associated with the con¬ trol system to enable the control system to compensate for the individual characteristics of the transducer being used. Additionally the invention relates to a method of using an acoustical imaging catheter in which a catheter is iden¬ tified for use in a medical procedure. The characteristics of said catheter are measured and these characteristics are encoded on the catheter at a location suitable for scanning by a drive and control system adapted to be associated with said catheter. The encoded catheter is placed on to the drive and control system and the encoded characteristics are read into the control system. The control system is a d just ¬ ed to compensate for the encoded characteristics automati- cally by its reading of the encoded data. Brief Description of the Drawing Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a motor connector assembly to which a catheter is connected. Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the assembly shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is an elevational view of the proximal en d of the catheter. Figure 4 is a block diagram of the electronic compo- nents useful with the acoustical catheter of the present invention. Description of the Preferred Embodiments The catheter is adapted to be positioned in the b o d y b y standard catheter procedures such as within a blood vessel or the heart by guiding the flexible catheter through vari¬ ous blood vessels along a certain circuitous path. For example the catheter can be introduced percutaneously with an introduction sheath disposed in a perforation in t h e femoral artery. Micro acoustic imaging catheters according to the present invention are driven and monitored by a controller and drive system 30. The catheter is comprised of a d is¬ posable catheter sheath 12 having an acoustically transpar- ent window 24 at its distal end. The sheath 12 surroun d s a miniature rotatable ultrasonic transducer, as is wel l k nown, driven by a special hi-fidelity flexible drive shaft 1 8. A mating connector 7 is disposed at the proximal end of the catheter and is adapted to be associated with a console an d control-drive system 30. The disposable catheter sheath 12 is a long tube ex ¬ truded from standard catheter materials. The transducer cover 24 is disposed at the distal end of the sheath 12 . The cover 24 is constructed of a material that is transpar ¬ ent to sound waves such as high impact polystyrene. The cover 24 has a thickness of approximately 0. 12 5 mm and a length of about 8 mm. The transducer is disposed within the catheter sheath 12 and under the cover 24. It is forme d in a known manner with a ceramic material such as barium titanates, lead zirconium titanates, lead metaniobates. These materi ¬ als are capable of transforming pressure distortions on a surface to electrical voltage and vice versa. The trans d uc ¬ er assembly is further provided with an acoustic lens having a radius of curvature that is greater than about 2 . 5 mm an d provides a focus over a predetermined range. The lens is positioned at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis o f the catheter so that during rotation it scans a conical sur f ace from the transducer tip. The transducer backing is acousti- cally matched to the transducer element to improve axial resolution. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the connector 7 is d is ¬ posed at the proximal end of the sheath 12. It is a d apte d to be associated with a connector 16 housing t h e d riving motor 20. Electric wires 21 extend into a center shaft 4 3 of the driving motor 20. Wires 21 emerge as coaxial cable 32. The center shaft 43 and connector 16 rotate to ¬ gether as do the cable 32 that pass through them. In the enlarged view of Figure 2 it can be seen how the motor connector 16 and the drive shaft connector 7 mate so when the two assemblies are pushed together, they make b oth electrical and mechanical connection. The catheter connec ¬ tion is held in position by ball bearings 38 which provide a thrusting surface for rotating connector 7 and d rive shaft 18 which rotates the transducer at speeds of about 1800 r.p.m. The transducer is electrically connected to components 30 by the coaxial cable 32 that exten d s through coil assembly 18 into the motor 20. It is then connecte d to the components 30 by wires 20 which send receive an d inter ¬ pret signals from the transducer. A conventional electrical connector 32A is disposed in the cable 32 to enable the drive shaft assembly 18 to be electrically connecte d through the drive motor 18 to the components 30. Components 30 include an LED reader and can include a cathode ray tu b e electronic controls for the rotary repetition rate an d standard ultrasonic imaging equipment. A rotation detector in the form of a shaft encoder detects the instantaneous rotational position of the proximal rotating assembly an d applies the positional information to the electronic compo ¬ nents for use in producing a scanning image. The cathode connector includes a boot which can have a generally conical external shape in the form o f a flare d skirt l. An indicia bearing surface 2 is disposed insi d e o f the flared skirt 1. The surface 2 is imprinted with shapes normally read by automatic equipment such as bar lines or other readable indicia. The indicia bearing surface 2 matches with a LED reader that is one of the components 30 . The component 30 is connected to a light pipe 4 that is housed within a conduit 3 fitted in the thrusting surface 16 of the connector. Light pipe 4 emerges through a surface 17. After placing the connector 7 on the thrusting surface 16, the LED will scan the indicia on indicia bearing surface 2 to identify the parameters that have to be regis¬ tered for interpretation of the particular catheter being used. As shown in Figure 3, indicia is encoded on the surface 2 disposed on flared skirt 1 of the connector 7 . Referring to Figure 4 a block diagram of the electron¬ ics of the basic analog ultrasound imaging system use d wit h an acoustical catheter is shown. The motor controller D positions the transducer B for the next scan line. The transmit pulsar A drives the ultrasound transducer. The transducer B converts the electrical energy into acoustical energy in a emits a sound wave. The sound wave reflects off various interfaces in the region of interest and a portion returns to the transducer. The transducer converts the acoustic energy back into electrical energy. The scanner G reads the encoded material on the indicia bearing surface o f the catheter and transmits the results to the computer which adjusts itself to operate the transducer in accordance with its instructions. While it is apparent that changes and modifications can be made within the spirit and scope of the present inven¬ tion, it is my intention, however, only to be limited by the appended claims. As my invention I claim:

Claims: 1. An acoustical imaging catheter adapted to b e use d with a drive and control system wherein the system can b e advised to compensate for different characteristics of different acoustical imaging catheters used on sai d d rive and control system, said catheter comprising: an elongated sheath having a proximal and a distal en d , said sheath having a lumen therein; a drive shaft having a proximal and a distal en d an d an acoustic transducer disposed on the distal en d of sai d drive shaft, said drive shaft and said transducer being d ispose d in the lumen of said sheath; indicia means disposed on said sheath, sai d in d icia means being encoded with characteristics and identification especially related to said catheter and transducer, sai d indicia means being disposed to be read by a sensor associ ¬ ated with said control system to enable said control system to compensate for the individual characteristics an d i d enti ¬ fication of the catheter and transducer being use d . 2. The catheter according to claim 1 further including coupling means disposed on said proximal end, sai d coupling means including a flared skirt extending therefrom, sai d indicia means including optically readable indicia d ispose d on the inner surface thereof. 3. The catheter according to claim l wherein the identification encoded on said indicia means includes data specific to the catheter including type, size and use. 4. The catheter according to claim 3 wherein the characteristics encoded on said indicia means further in ¬ cludes characteristics specific to the individual catheter comprising its frequency, band width, pulse length, rever- beration, required transient voltage, thermal impedance, an d required motor scan speed. 5. A catheter adapted to be used in a medical proce¬ dure together with a system to provide medical diagnoses, said catheter having specific characteristics which distin¬ guishes it from other catheters wherein the system can be advised as to which catheter is being used and what to compensate for to accommodate differences between the cathe¬ ter being used and such similar catheters, said catheter comprising: an elongated sheath having a proximal and a distal end, said sheath having a lumen therein; means inside said lumen to provide a medical test- indicia means disposed on said sheath, said indicia means being encoded with characteristics and information especially related to said catheter, said indicia means being disposed to be read by a sensor associated with said control system to enable said control system to compensate for the individual characteristics of the transducer being used. 6. A method of using an acoustical imaging catheter, said method comprising: identifying an acoustical imaging catheter employing a rotating transducer to be used in a medical procedure; measuring characteristics of said catheter; encoding the identification and characteristics of said catheter on said catheter at a location suitable for scan ¬ ning by a drive and control system adapted to be associated with said catheter; placing said encoded catheter onto said drive and control system and reading the encoded identification and characteristics into the control system; adjusting said control system to compensate for the encoded identification and characteristics on said catheter; using said catheter in a medical procedure utilizing said control system which has been adjusted for said encoded identification and characteristics. 7. The method according to claim 6 wherein the encoded identification includes data specific to each catheter including type, size and use. 8. The catheter according to claim 7 wherein the encoded characteristics comprises frequency, band width pulse length, reverberation, required transient voltage, thermal impedance, and required motor scan speed. 9. The method according to claim 6 wherein the step of reading includes optically scanning the encoded identi¬ fication and characteristics through a light pipe disposed within said drive and control system.

Inventors: CROWLEY ROBERT J, CROWLEY, ROBERT, J.
Applicants: BOSTON SCIENT CORP, BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION
Application year: 1996
Main classification: A61B8
IPC codes: A61B8