An intracranial prosthesis comprised of a flat body having an interior ultrasound-compatible window and a ring having a plurality of access ports about the outer portion capable of engaging a plurality of diagnostic instruments and/or intracranial delivery systems so that a practicing medical professional can monitor certain parameters of a patient or deliver therapeutic agents to the patient while using an ultrasound-monitoring device to image the patient's brain. The prosthesis is designed to allow for the continuous, uninterrupted, simultaneous monitoring of a number of parameters of a patient's brain at the patient's bedside.

A dialysis catheter with an elongate body has a distal end defining blood removal and return ports communicating with internal blood removal and return lumens extending through the elongate body. A sensing pathway is disposed in or on the elongate body. A vascular dimension sensor is provided to dynamically measure changes in dimension of the SVC or IVC during dialysis. The sensor communicates with a control system and may be controlled or positioned via the communication pathway of the catheter body. Systems disclosed included integrated closed-loop treatment based on monitored vascular dimension input. Methods included patient optimized treatments incorporating treatment modulation based on dynamic vascular dimension monitoring.

An ultrasound device, including (i) an ultrasound transducer, and (ii) a coupling material in contact with the ultrasound transducer is presented. The coupling material can comprise a solid component and a liquid component, wherein the liquid component is absorbed within the solid component and forms a microscopic liquid layer on a surface of the solid component, through which acoustic energy from the ultrasound transducer can be conducted. The device can be mounted to an external body surface proximate to a portion of the lumen, allowing the device to measure the rate at which a component moves through the lumen. Also provided are methods for making the device and using the device to determine a physiological parameter based on at least the flow rate of a component through the lumen.

High volume-rate three-dimensional (“3D”) ultrasound imaging using fast acoustic steering via tilting electromechanical reflectors is described. Ultrasound beams are directed towards one or more tilting reflectors, which are scanned through a range of tilt angles in order to image a 3D field-of-view with a high volume rate.

An ultrasound probe according to an embodiment includes a base material, a first organic layer, and a second organic layer. The base material contain polyolefin. The first organic layer is formed on the outer surface of the base material and contains epoxy resin and silicate oligomer. The second organic layer is formed on the outer surface of the first organic layer and has hydrophilicity.

An ultrasound controller unit (22) for controlling an ultrasound transducer unit (24) in acquiring ultrasound data for the purpose of deriving one or more physiological parameter measurements. The controller is adapted to control weighting coefficients applied to transmit and receive signals of each of a plurality of transducer elements (26) of the transducer unit. The controller is adapted to detect any artifact in received data affecting (e.g. obscuring) the output path of one or more of the transducers, and to identify the affected transducer elements. The weighting coefficients of the non-affected transducer elements are then adjusted so as to minimize an estimated noise component in the parameter measurement, if derived using only the non-affected transducer elements. Measurements of the one or more parameters are then derived by collecting data from the non-affected transducers only, these being configured with the optimized weighting coefficients.

In order to obtain a predetermined ultrasonic wave field in a homogeneous internal part of a medium masked by an aberrating barrier, an ultrasonic lens is interposed between the emitting ultrasonic probe and the aberrating barrier. The ultrasonic lens is calculated by using a model of the medium comprising a mapping of ultrasonic wave propagation properties obtained from actual imaging of the medium such that when the ultrasound probe sends a predetermined ultrasonic wave, said predetermined wave generates the predetermined objective ultrasonic wave field in the medium.

Disclosed herein is a biocompatible ultrasonic coupling agent for endoscopes, comprising a biocompatible modified starch and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, or comprising an ingredient selected from the group consisting of cellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyoxyethylene, sodium alginate, glucan, hyaluronic acid, chitosan, light sensitive glue, ultrasonic sensitive glue, pH sensitive glue, gelatin and carbomer, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier; wherein the ultrasonic coupling agent produces an acoustic characteristic impedance matching the acoustic characteristic impedance of the human tissues during use for endoscopic ultrasound examination. Disclosed herein is also a kit for endoscopic ultrasound examination, comprising the said biocompatible ultrasonic coupling agent.

Embodiments provide an ultrasound treatment system and method. In some embodiments, the system includes a removable transducer module having an ultrasound transducer. In some embodiments, the system can include a hand wand with at least one finger activated controller and a control module that is coupled to the hand wand and has a graphical user interface for controlling the removable transducer module, and an interface coupling the hand wand to the control module. The interface may provide power to the hand wand or may transfer a signal from the hand wand to the control module. In some embodiments, the treatment system may be used in cosmetic procedures on at least a portion of a face, head, neck, and/or other part of a patient.

An intracranial prosthesis comprised of a flat body having an interior ultrasound-compatible window and means about the outer portion capable of engaging a plurality of diagnostic instruments and/or intracranial delivery systems so that a practicing medical professional can monitor certain parameters of a patient or deliver therapeutic agents to the patient while using an ultrasound-monitoring device to image the patient's brain. The prosthesis is designed to allow for the continuous, uninterrupted, simultaneous monitoring of a number of parameters of a patient's brain at the patient's bedside.