Patent ID: 8454520

Claim:
ultrasound imaging device for detecting internal properties of a target body, comprising: a rotatable ultrasound first transducer positioned at a distal end portion of a catheter for intravascular introduction into the target body, the rotatable ultrasound first transducer having a transmit frequency; a waveform generator, coupled to the rotatable ultrasound first transducer, for producing excitation pulses at the transmit frequency and configured to generate multiple pulse sequences during rotation of the rotatable ultrasound first transducer comprising any one of phase shifted, phase inverted or power modulated multipulse sequences for stimulating echo signals at one or more of the harmonic and subharmonic frequencies during said rotation of the rotatable ultrasound first transducer; a receiver for receiving echo signals from the rotatable ultrasound first transducer; a signal processor for analyzing echo signals from the rotatable ultrasound first transducer at said one or more harmonics and subharmonics of the transmit frequency and generating images therefrom; and a lower frequency second transducer positioned at the distal end portion of the catheter for producing contrast-agent destruction pulses in the range of 1 to 15 MHz; wherein the ultrasound imaging device is configured to enhance contrast agent to tissue signals using the one or more phase shifted, phase inverted and power modulated multipulse sequences as nonlinear imaging techniques, whereby in use the images are generated using echo signals from the rotatable ultrasound first transducer while the contrast-agent destruction pulses are produced using the lower frequency second transducer.