A radiation finder tool assists in locating tissue of interest within a patient. The radiation finder tool includes a body and a plurality of radiation detectors. The body has a distal end, a proximal end. A lengthwise axis of the radiation finder tool extends between the proximal end and the distal end of the body. The plurality of radiation detectors is oriented serially along the lengthwise axis, e.g., stacked one after the other along the lengthwise axis. Each radiation detector of the plurality of radiation detectors has a different field of view for radiation detected by that radiation detector. Each field of view of the plurality of radiation detectors has the lengthwise axis at its center.

An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to an embodiment includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to generate ultrasound images in a time series on the basis of data acquired by transmitting and receiving an ultrasound wave. Every time an ultrasound image satisfying a predetermined condition is generated, the processing circuitry is configured to perform a position aligning process between the ultrasound image satisfying the predetermined condition and a reference image obtained in advance. The processing circuitry is configured to identify, within the ultrasound image satisfying the predetermined condition, a region of interest set in the reference image, on the basis of a result of the position aligning process and to track the region of interest in ultrasound images in a time series that are newly generated by the image generating unit during or after the position aligning process.

Disclosed is an acoustic wave receiving apparatus including: a light irradiation unit; a receiving array receiving photoacoustic waves generated by a subject portion to output photoacoustic signals; a transmitting and receiving array transmitting ultrasound waves to the subject portion and receiving echo waves to output ultrasound signals; an array support unit having a first portion supporting the receiving array a second portion supporting the transmitting and receiving array; a scanning unit integrally scanning the arrays. The array support unit is so configured that effective reception region and a focusing region formed by the transmitting and receiving array do not overlap each other.

An acoustic wave receiving apparatus comprises: a light irradiation unit that irradiates a subject portion with light; a receiving array; a transmitting and receiving array; an array support unit that has a supporting region for supporting the receiving array and supports the transmitting and receiving array; and a scanning unit that scans an effective reception region, wherein a focusing region formed by the transmitting and receiving array transmits the ultrasound waves and the effective reception region overlap each other.

The present invention relates to a pregnancy monitoring system (10) and to a method for detecting medical condition information from a pregnant subject of interest (12). The system (10) comprises a fetal monitoring transducer (20) that detects fetal medical condition information, a first motion sensor unit (30) associated with the fetal monitoring transducer (20), the first motion sensor unit (30) comprising at least one first motion sensor (70, 72), a second motion sensor unit (32) comprising at least one second motion sensor (70, 72), and a control device (48) comprising an evaluation unit (50) that determines relative motion between the first motion sensor unit (30) and the second motion sensor unit (32), wherein the control device (48) selectively permits, in an enablement mode, processing of the detected fetal medical condition information when a level of relative motion between the first motion sensor unit (30) and the second motion sensor unit (32) indicates stable measurement conditions, and wherein the control device (48) selectively prevents, in a suppression mode, processing of the detected fetal medical condition information when the level of relative motion between the first motion sensor unit (30) and the second motion sensor unit (32) indicates unstable measurement conditions.

The invention provides methods for detecting features of interest in cardiovascular images by receiving information from a first modality and transforming information from the first modality into a first coordinate space, receiving information from a second modality and transforming information from the second modality into a second coordinate space. The first coordinate space is aligned to the second coordinate space to combine information from the first modality and the second modality into a combined data set. The method can also involve detecting the feature of interest in a vascular image based on the combined data set.

A handheld-type probe is used, the probe including: a grip portion; a plurality of detection elements configured to receive an acoustic wave and output an electrical signal; a detection surface where the plurality of detection elements are disposed; and a light-absorber supporting member where a light absorber is disposed, the light absorber absorbing light emitted from a light source and generating an acoustic wave.

The invention relates to a property determination apparatus (1) for determining a property of an object (3). Optical sensing data being indicative of an optical property of the object and ultrasound sensing data being indicative of an ultrasound property of the object are generated, and a property determination unit (75) determines a property of the object based on at least one of the optical sensing data and the ultrasound sensing data. Since light and ultrasound have generally different penetration depths and scattering properties with respect to the object, a property of the object can be determined with good quality, even if the quality of one of the optical sensing data and the ultrasound sensing data is reduced by, for example, a relatively small penetration depth, or if one of the optical sensing data and the ultrasound sensing data is less suitable for determining a desired property of the object.

According to one embodiment, an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus comprises processing circuitry. The processing circuitry sets one of wavelengths of a plurality of light sources as a reference wavelength, normalize an intensity of light having a wavelength other than the reference wavelength, which is detected by a pair of each light irradiation unit and each optical detector, with an intensity of light having the reference wavelength, calculate a first value for each pair by nonlinear enhancement correction of a normalized light intensity, calculate a second value for the each pair by nonlinear reduction correction of an intensity of light having the reference wavelength detected by the each pair, and calculate an evaluation value based on a value obtained by multiplication of the first value and the second value for the each pair.

A real-time imaging method that provides ultrasonic imaging and optoacoustic imaging coregistered through application of the same hand-held probe to generate and detect ultrasonic and optoacoustic signals. These signals are digitized, processed and used to reconstruct anatomical maps superimposed with maps of two functional parameters of blood hemoglobin index and blood oxygenation index. The blood hemoglobin index represents blood hemoglobin concentration changes in the areas of diagnostic interest relative to the background blood concentration. The blood oxygenation index represents blood oxygenation changes in the areas of diagnostic interest relative to the background level of blood oxygenation. These coregistered maps can be used to noninvasively differentiate malignant tumors from benign lumps and cysts.