Method and apparatus for determining the motility of a region in the human body
September 28, 2010. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.Patent References 3124132 3661146 3921622 Apparatus with a catheter for examining hollow organs or bodies with the ultrasonic waves Implantable neural electrode Arrangement for the measurement of the flow volume of flowing media Biomedical ultrasonoscope Endoscope with bend angle control Pocket ECG electrode Endoscopic method & apparatus including ultrasonic B-scan imaging Inventors
AssigneeApplicationNo. 463548 filed on 01/11/1990US Classes:600/459, Structure of transducer or probe assembly600/463, With acoustical or display imaging600/561Measuring fluid pressure in bodyExaminersPrimary: Jaworski, Francis J.Assistant: Pontius, Kevin Attorney, Agent or FirmForeign Patent References
International ClassA61B 008/08AbstractDevices are described which can be used to study the physiological function of the intestinal wall. These devices include an ultrasonic transducer that can be attached to a region of the intestinal wall. The transducer interrogates the wall and echoes are obtained from the different wall layers. The echoes are processed to produce an M-mode display of the wall. This allows monitoring how the wall changes with time. For example, as the wall contracts the muscle layer thickens and this action may be observed with the device. Other sensors and electrodes can be combined with this probe to correlate various physiological action. Finally, several such probes can be combined into a common introducible probe but which will monitor several regions along the intestinal wall. The major advantage of the disclosed device is that it provides a measurement of intestinal motility previously unattainable and it is introducible by endoscopy. This makes it a suitable tool for studying patient disease.Other References
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