Patent ID: 7285096

Claim:
An ultrasound probe positioning immersion shell for use between an ultrasound probe having a transducer with a body region adjacent the transducer and a human eye with a cornea, the shell comprising: a. an upper cylindrical body tapering, at a tapered region, to a lower cylindrical body, the upper and lower cylindrical bodies defining a central axis, an upper chamber and a lower chamber; b. an external guide ring extending across an upper region of the upper cylindrical body, the external guide ring including: (1) a plurality of external guide surfaces extending through the external guide ring, each of the external guide surfaces spaced a like radius from and centered along the central axis; and, (2) a plurality of external vents extending through the external guide ring; c. a fluid transfer port extending through the upper cylindrical body to communicate with an upper chamber; d. an internal guide ring, interior to the tapered region and between the upper and lower chambers, the internal guide ring including: (1) a plurality of internal guide surfaces extending through the internal guide ring, each of the internal guide surfaces spaced a like radius, less than the like radius of the external guide surfaces, from and centered along the central axis; and, (2) a plurality of internal vents extending through the internal guide; and, e. a lip, for contacting the human eye about the cornea of the eye, the lip situated at a lower extreme of the lower cylindrical body.