INTRA-VESSEL PROBE ASSEMBLY

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device, moving at an accurate fixed speed in the longitudinal direction in a section of a blood vessel system of a patient. SOLUTION: This device includes: a probe drive module and a linear translation module. The drive module is coupled to an ultrasonic imaging probe assembly so that longitudinal shifting of a sub-assembly may be effected. The drive module is mounted to the linear translation unit so as to be movable between a condition whereby longitudinal shifting of the transducer sub-assembly can be conducted either manually or automatically. When in the latter condition, the drive module will be engaged with a motor-driven screw mounted on the translation module to be displaced at a constant speed. The distally located ultrasonic transducer is longitudinally shifted during an ultrasound scan to thereby allow axially spaced 360-data sample slices of the surrounding tissue to be obtained. The data slice may be reconstructed into a two-dimensional or three-dimensional representations. COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI