An elongated access device used in a medical system. The elongated access device slidably receives a medical tool and an ultrasound probe. The elongated access device includes a sheath and an intraluminal tip attached to the distal end of the sheath. The intraluminal tip includes ramp and nose donuts being spaced apart from one another and configured to be attached to one or more elongated sleeves. One or more orientation pins are engaged with the respective ramp and nose donuts and may be anchored within the sheath. The medical tool is engaged with a ramp formed in the ramp donut or a ramp received within the ramp donut. The ultrasound probe is configured to engage with the intraluminal tip so as to ensure that the medical tool directionality is oriented toward a target during a procedure.

The ultrasonic probe according to a present embodiment includes a piezoelectric vibrator and an acoustic lens. The piezoelectric vibrator is configured to transmit and receive an ultrasonic wave. The acoustic lens is provided on an ultrasonic-wave transmission/reception side. The acoustic lens is formed in such a manner that a surface shape of each of end regions located on both sides of a central region of a surface of the acoustic lens is formed to have a curvature different from a curvature of a surface shape of the central region of the surface of the acoustic lens.

A system (102) includes a digital information repository(s) (104) configured to store an aortic valve area measurement, a mean transaortic pressure gradient measurement, and a peak aortic jet velocity measurement for a subject of interest. The system further includes a computing apparatus (106). The computing apparatus comprises a memory (110) configured to store instructions (120) for an aortic stenosis classifier (122). The computing apparatus further comprises a processor (108) configured to execute the stored instructions for the aortic stenosis classifier to classify a severity of an aortic stenosis of the subject of interest based at least on the aortic valve area measurement, the mean transaortic pressure gradient measurement, and the peak aortic jet velocity measurement for the subject of interest. The computing apparatus further comprises a display configured to display the severity.

A device (10) is provided for ultrasound-based reflection and transmission tomography. The device (10) comprises: a transducer holder (14) configured to hold a plurality of ultrasonic transducers around an imaging volume (30) to be filled with an ultrasonic coupling medium, the transducer holder (14) having an opening for inserting, into the imaging volume (30), at least one part of a body to be imaged, wherein the transducer holder (14) is configured to move, during imaging of the at least one part of the body to be imaged, with respect to the body to be imaged; a support member (11) configured to support, during imaging, the body to be imaged, the support member (11) having a support-member-opening allowing access to the transducer holder (14) by the at least one part of the body to be imaged; a diaphragm (12) having a diaphragm-opening (13), the diaphragm (12) being arranged across the support-member-opening such that a center of the diaphragm-opening (13) is placed substantially at a predetermined position, wherein the diaphragm (12) comprises a material that has a higher transmissivity of ultrasound than a material of the support member (11); an outlet (15) for the ultrasonic coupling medium to flow out of the imaging volume (30) when the at least one part of the body to be imaged is inserted into the imaging volume (30) filled with the ultrasonic coupling medium and/or during imaging; and an elastic membrane (16) comprising a fluidtight material connecting the transducer holder (14) and the outlet (15) in order to guide the ultrasonic coupling medium flowing out of the imaging volume (30) towards the outlet (15).

A method and system acquiring, processing and displaying breast ultrasound images in a way that makes breast ultrasound screening more practical and thus more widely used, and reduces the occurrence of missing cancers in screening and diagnosis, using automated scanning of chestwardly compressed breasts with ultrasound. Enhanced, whole-breast navigator overview images are produced from scanning breasts with ultrasound that emphasize abnormalities in the breast while excluding obscuring influences of non-breast structures, particularly those external to the breast such as ribs and chest wall, and differentiating between likely malignant and likely benign abnormalities and otherwise enhancing the navigator overview image and other images, thereby reducing the time to read, screen, and/or diagnose to practical time limits and also reduce screening or diagnostic errors.

A system and a method of non-invasive continuous echocardiographic monitoring is provided with an ultrasound transducer and a bedside monitor. The beside monitor includes a monitor central processing unit (CPU). First, the ultrasound transducer is attached onto a specific skin portion of a patient. The specific skin portion is positioned adjacent to a patient's heart. Next, continuous echocardiographic data is sensed with the ultrasound transducer. After relaying the continuous echocardiographic data from the ultrasound transducer to the monitor CPU, the monitor CPU generates a real-time ultrasound image of the heart from the continuous echocardiographic data. Finally, the real-time ultrasound image is outputted with the bedside monitor. If the bedside monitor has a main screen, then the real-time ultrasound image is displayed through a picture-in-picture format with the main screen. Otherwise, if the beside monitor has an ancillary screen, then the real-time ultrasound image is exclusively displayed with the ancillary screen.

An intravascular blood flow sensing system is provided. The system includes an intravascular catheter or guidewire with a flow sensor that obtains flow data of blood flow within a blood vessel. The system includes a processor circuit that communicates with the intravascular catheter or guidewire. The processor circuit receives the flow data from the intravascular catheter or guidewire, determine a plurality of values based on the flow data, and outputs a plot of the plurality of values to a display. The plot includes peak associated with coronary reactivity testing (CRT). The processor circuit can also automatically change between a louder volume and a softer volume for audio output of the flow data. The processor circuit can additional communicate with a device other than the flow sensor (e.g., ECG, pressure sensor, etc.), and graphical representations of the flow data and the data received from the other device can be independent scaled.

Methods for treating skin and subcutaneous tissue with energy such as ultrasound energy are disclosed. In various embodiments, ultrasound energy is applied at a region of interest to affect tissue by cutting, ablating, micro-ablating, coagulating, or otherwise affecting the subcutaneous tissue to conduct numerous procedures that are traditionally done invasively in a non-invasive manner. Methods of lifting sagging tissue are described.

A warming device and system for warming medical gel to a comfortable temperature prior to application to a patient. A warming chamber configured to receive one or more gel containers (e.g., packets or bottles) disposed in a horizontal orientation with a cover sealing the chamber. Multiple protrusions and/or depressions disposed on an inside surface of the chamber can be used to soften thermal conduction of heat to the gel containers and inhibit hot spots. A flexible heating element and an intermediate thermal conducting member can extend up one or more sides of the warming chamber. Multiple buttons can be used to set different gel temperature settings.

A system and method for capturing ultrasound signals from a hemispheric imaging region (e.g., by a stationary array of transducer elements arranged in the shape of a faceted hemisphere) and estimating scattering measurements that would be made by a virtual array in the opposite hemisphere (e.g., by a network of processors that receive and process the transmitted ultrasound signals in parallel) by forming an initial estimate of a medium variation for each of a plurality of subvolumes in the scattering object to form an estimated object, calculating residual scattering by using a difference between a scattering response calculated for the estimated object and measured ultrasound signals received from the scattering object, forming an initial three-dimensional image of the scattering object, and extrapolating a difference between the scattering response calculated for the estimated object and the measured ultrasound signals received from the scattering object.