Patent ID: 7211045

Claim:
An ultrasound imaging system suitable for use in measuring cardiac output of a patient's heart and simultaneously imagine the left ventricle area of the heart for accurate placement of a pacing electrode, said system comprising: (1) an ultrasound imaging catheter designed for intracardiac use comprising at least one transducer utilizing piezoelectric properties to generate acoustic signals from electrical signals in order to obtain ultrasound signals, wherein the at least one transducer is suitable for insertion into the patient's heart and to obtain ultrasound signals associated with an area of the patent's heart in which cardiac output is to be measured; (2) digital and/or analog electronics capable of generating and processing ultrasound signals from the at least one transducer to generate B-mode, M-mode, or Doppler representations of the cardiac output of the patient's heart; and (3) an associated computer that can generate and process the ultrasound signals in order to simultaneously measure the cardiac output in the patient's heart and display an image of the area of the patient's heart.