Take heart in new 3D probe

Biomedical engineers at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering have created a new three-dimensional ultrasound cardiac imaging probe. Inserted inside the oesophagus, the probe creates a picture of the whole heart in the time it takes for current ultrasound technology to image a single heart cross section.

The new probe has considerable potential not only for evaluating the condition of the heart, but also for use in guiding therapeutic treatment devices, the researchers said. The new Duke probe can also be used to image the oesophagus, rectum, colon and prostate.

One form of ultrasound cardiac imaging, called transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), is conducted on hundreds of people each day in the United States. The technique entails inserting a probe down the patient's throat and behind the heart to capture ultrasound heart images. The images can reveal the condition of the heart chambers, valves, major blood vessels and heart tissue.