tiny catheter-based CMOS sensor processes 3D images from inside heart and blood vessels
image courtesy georgia tech

 

 

 

researchers at the georgia institute of technology have developed a catheter-based device capable of providing forward-looking, real-time, three-dimensional imaging from inside the heart, coronary arteries and peripheral blood vessels. with its volumetric imaging, the ‘flashlight’ aims to better guide surgeons working in the heart, and potentially allow more of patients’ clogged arteries to be cleared without major surgery.

 

‘our device will allow doctors to see the whole volume that is in front of them within a blood vessel,’ says F. levent degertekin, a professor at the georgia institute of technology. ‘this will give cardiologists the equivalent of a flashlight so they can see blockages ahead of them in occluded arteries. it has the potential for reducing the amount of surgery that must be done to clear these vessels.’

chip-based catheter camera provides 3d images from inside heart and blood vessels
the device integrates ultrasound transducers with processing electronics on a single 1.4 millimeter silicon chip
image courtesy rob felt

 

 

the single-chip system combines capacitive micro-machined ultrasonic transducer arrays with front-end CMOS electronics technology to provide three-dimensional intravascular ultrasound and intracardiac echography images. processing of signals allows data from more than a hundred elements on the device to be transmitted using just 13 tiny cables, permitting it to easily travel through circuitous blood vessels. the images produced by the chip would provide significantly more information than existing cross-sectional ultrasound. the prototype will be able to provide image data at 60 frames per second, and plan next to conduct animal studies that could lead to commercialization of the device.

chip-based catheter camera provides 3d images from inside heart and blood vessels
image courtesy rob felt

 

 

the dual-ring array includes 56 ultrasound transmit elements and 48 receive elements. when assembled, the donut-shaped array is just 1.5 millimeters in diameter, with a 430-micron center hole to accommodate a guide wire. power-saving circuitry in the array shuts down sensors when they are not needed, allowing the device to operate with just 20 milliwatts of power, reducing the amount of heat generated inside the body. the ultrasound transducers operate at a frequency of 20 megahertz (mhz).