Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Detecting nuclear – electromagnetic – or ultrasonic radiation
Patent
1998-12-17
2000-05-02
Lateef, Marvin M.
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Detecting nuclear, electromagnetic, or ultrasonic radiation
128903, 600407, 367127, A61B 814, A61F 202
Patent
active
060566957
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a device for locating a miniaturised ultrasonic generator with resolution in terms of time and position. The device provides for a transmitting and receiving means for ultrasonic waves with a miniaturised ultrasonic generator which operates independently on a battery and which is appropriate for accommodation in a small encapsulating case preferably for medical examinations. Moreover at least one ultrasonic receiver is provided which is connected to an analyser which determines, with resolution in terms of time, the distance between the ultrasonic generator and the receiver.
PRIOR ART
Such devices play a special role in medical diagnostics, particularly in those cases where the medical diagnosis depends on the measurement of delays, as is required in the examination of the bowel function.
In the master thesis by J. Rupp, which deals with the topic of three-dimensional detection, with resolution in terms of time and position, of a miniaturised ultrasonic generator moving through the gastro-intestinal tract--engineering bases of an intestinal monitoring system, published by the electrical engineering division at the Saarland University in Saarbruecken/St. Ingbert, 1993, discloses a system of the claimed general type which constitutes the basis of the inventive idea described in the following.
The basic idea of the system described in that master thesis consists in the fact that a miniaturised ultrasonic generator for independent operation, together with all the switching units required for transmitting operation, is integrated into a pilular capsule designed for oral administration. With the oral administration of a pilula so designed the independently operating ultrasonic generator is conveyed by the natural peristalsis into the intestinal tract and is then excreted in the natural way after a certain time. When appropriate ultrasonic receivers are used which are disposed about the body to be examined and which are connected to suitable analyser units it is possible to conclude the respective distances by which the ultrasonic generator is spaced from the respective ultrasonic receivers by way of measurement of the delays of the ultrasonic waves emitted by the ultrasonic generator, which waves propagate up to the position of the respective ultrasonic receiver. The subsequent analysis of the measured signals applied simultaneously at various ultrasonic receivers allows for a precise determination of the three-dimensional position of the ultrasonic generator in space.
The proposed device may be used for an examination technique which permits the investigation of the bowel function, for instance, without interference with the organic environment and without putting too much strain on the patient.
One essential aspect of such a device is the most compact structure possible of the transmitting means which should incessantly emit ultrasonic signals throughout the entire period of examination. The electronic transmitting means used to generate the signals benefits from generally common pulsating circuits including inductive and capacitive elements for generating a pulsed voltage. Conceivable pulsating circuits such as a blocking-oscillator circuit or pulsator circuits with MOSFET elements are described on pages 26 to 32 of the aforementioned diploma thesis.
The fundamental idea supporting the application of pulsator circuits is the generation of the highest voltage peaks possible which are applied to the ultrasonic generator for generation of ultrasonic waves. As the measuring precision in the measurement of delays is dependent on the signal-to-noise ratio of the ultrasonic signal received the pulse energy should therefore be as high as possible. This is implemented in the described manner in such a way that the rated 3 Volt potential, which is supplied by the battery, is transformed by means of inductive coupling to maximum voltage peaks of roughly 50 Volt. It is hence possible to introduce a high amount of pulse energy into brief pulse strings in order to obtain
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Bresser Bertram
Heidmann Dieter
Rupp Joerg
Schmitt Rainer
Fraunhofer Gesellscaft zur Forderung der Angewandten Forschung e
Imam Ali M.
Lateef Marvin M.
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