Tissue imaging

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Another benefit is portability, which is an important issue for patients who are too sick to be transported, since X-rays need to be taken in specially equipped rooms, Light said. The 3D ultrasound machine is on wheels and can be moved easily to a patient’s room..

A novel probe that sports a ring of ultrasound transducers around the tip of a medical catheter can help provide physicians with clearer real-time images of soft tissue.

Duke University biomedical engineers designed and fabricated the ultrasound probe which works like an insect's compound eye, blending images from the 108 miniature transducers which work in cohorts to help produce detailed 3D images.

Catheter-based procedures involve snaking instruments through blood vessels to perform various tasks, such as clearing arteries or placing stents, usually with the guidance of X-ray images.

In a series of proof-of-principle experiments in a water tank using simulated vessels, the engineers used the new ultrasound probe to guide two specific procedures: the placement of a filter within a vessel and the placement of a synthetic ‘patch’ for aortic aneurysms. The scientists plan to begin tests of the new system in animals within the year.

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