Apparatus and methods are described for performing percutaneous catheter-based interventional surgery. The apparatus comprises first and second devices that are located in adjacent body cavities, such as adjacent blood vessels, the first device being capable of transmitting a directional signal that can be received by the second device. The direction of the signal is correlated with the facility to direct therapy, such that improved accuracy in therapy placement is thereby achieved. Methods for treating patients utilising the means and apparatus are also provided.

A catheter system can include a tubular body, and at least one of a targeting system coupled to the tubular body, an expandable member, or a fluid injection port. A method of identifying a bifurcation can include inserting a catheter system into a first vessel, positioning the catheter system at a first location, expanding an expandable member to occlude the first vessel, delivering contrast material so the contrast material pooling proximate to the expandable member, and reviewing a shape of the contrast material in the first vessel under fluoroscopy.

An apparatus for performing a medical procedure is disclosed. The apparatus includes a sensor adapted to convert an ultrasonic signal incident thereon into an electrical signal; and a wireless transceiver configured to receive the electrical signal from the sensor, and to transmit the electrical signal to a wireless receiver remotely located from the apparatus.

A vascular guide wire device comprising: a guide wire comprising a guide wire head and a laser-acoustic head sensor configured to navigate in a patient's blood vessel, said laser-acoustic head sensor connected via an optic fiber threaded through said guide wire device with a laser-acoustic diode controlled by a laser-acoustic diode controller; a computerized system electronically communicating with said laser-acoustic head sensor, said computerized system comprising a computer, image processing means and display means and configured to provide images and measurements 2-centimeters ahead inside a patient's arteries occlusions therein purposing to move and navigate safely into the right artery lumen; first steering means connected with said guide wire head and configured to navigate said laser-acoustic head sensor according to said image processing results; and opening means connected with said guide wire head for opening total occlusion of said artery.

A controller (120) for simultaneously tracking multiple sensors in a medical intervention includes a circuit (121-181) that causes the controller (120) to execute a process. The process executed by the circuit (121-181) includes receiving first and second signals respectively from a first and a second passive ultrasound sensor (S2) used in the medical intervention. The first and second signals respectively include first and second sensor information indicative of respective locations of the first and the second passive ultrasound sensor (S2). The process executed by the circuit (121-181) also includes combining (120) the first signal and the second signal for transmission over only one channel, and providing the first signal and the second signal over the only one channel to a system (190) that determines the location of the first passive ultrasound sensor (S1) and the location of the second passive ultrasound sensor (S2) and that has only the one channel to receive the first signal and the second signal.

The invention relates to a system for assisting in navigating a medical device (1) in a region of a patient body, such as a cardiac chamber. The system comprises a unit (5) for providing a three-dimensional model of the region and an ultrasound probe (2) for acquiring image signals of the region of the patient body. At least one an ultrasound sensor (6) is attached to the medical device (1) for sensing ultrasound signals emitted by the 5 ultrasound probe (2) and a tracking unit (7) determines a relative position of the at last one ultrasound sensor (6) with respect to the live images and/or the ultrasound probe (2) on the basis of the sensed ultrasound signals. Further, a mapping unit (8) maps the determined relative position of the at least one ultrasound sensor (6) onto the model to generate a visualization of region of the patient body.

An apparatus for performing a medical procedure comprises a sensor adapted to convert an ultrasonic signal incident thereon into an electrical signal. The sensor comprises a lower electrode and an upper electrode, and the upper electrode is adapted to transmit the electrical signal to an electrode of an ultrasound imaging probe.

A catheter system can include a tubular body, and at least one of a targeting system coupled to the tubular body, an expandable member, or a fluid injection port. A method of identifying a bifurcation can include inserting a catheter system into a first vessel, positioning the catheter system at a first location, expanding an expandable member to occlude the first vessel, delivering contrast material so the contrast material pooling proximate to the expandable member, and reviewing a shape of the contrast material in the first vessel under fluoroscopy.

Apparatus and methods are described for performing percutaneous catheter-based interventional surgery. The apparatus comprises first and second devices that are located in adjacent body cavities, such as adjacent blood vessels, the first device being capable of transmitting a directional signal that can be received by the second device. The direction of the signal is correlated with the facility to direct therapy, such that improved accuracy in therapy placement is thereby achieved. Methods for treating patients utilizing the means and apparatus are also provided.

An ultrasound system comprises an ultrasound unit including: an ultrasound probe including a first set of imaging transducer elements and a second set of localisation transducer elements. The first set of imaging transducer elements are configured to: (i) produce ultrasound imaging transmissions into the human body, wherein the ultrasound imaging transmissions are focussed into an image scan plane, and (ii) receive reflections of the ultrasound imaging transmissions for generating a two-dimensional anatomical image corresponding to the image scan plane. The second set of localisation transducer elements are configured to produce ultrasound localisation transmissions into the human body for locating the medical instrument with respect to the anatomical image, wherein the ultrasound localisation transmissions extend outside the image scan plane.