US 11,911,217 B2
Intraluminal imaging devices with a reduced number of signal channels
William Ossmann, Acton, MA (US); Bernard Joseph Savord, Andover, MA (US); Wojtek Sudol, Andover, MA (US); and Stephen Davies, El Dorado Hills, CA (US)
Assigned to KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V., Eindhoven (NL)
Appl. No. 16/338,855
Filed by KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V., Eindhoven (NL)
PCT Filed Sep. 26, 2017, PCT No. PCT/EP2017/074278
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Apr. 2, 2019,
PCT Pub. No. WO2018/065254, PCT Pub. Date Apr. 12, 2018.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/437,778, filed on Dec. 22, 2016.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/403,311, filed on Oct. 3, 2016.
Prior Publication US 2020/0214670 A1, Jul. 9, 2020
Int. Cl. A61B 8/00 (2006.01); A61B 8/08 (2006.01); A61B 8/12 (2006.01)
CPC A61B 8/4461 (2013.01) [A61B 8/0883 (2013.01); A61B 8/12 (2013.01); A61B 8/445 (2013.01); A61B 8/4488 (2013.01); A61B 8/466 (2013.01); A61B 8/56 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus, comprising:
an intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) catheter comprising:
a flexible elongate member sized and shaped to be advanced through a blood vessel;
an imaging assembly comprising:
an imaging array positioned at a distal portion of the flexible elongate member,
wherein the imaging array comprises a plurality of imaging elements,
wherein a quantity of the plurality of imaging elements comprises more than 800 imaging elements and less than 1000 imaging elements,
wherein the plurality of imaging elements is arranged into a plurality of subarrays,
wherein a subarray of the plurality of subarrays comprises a subset of the plurality of imaging elements;
a micro-beam-former integrated circuit (IC) positioned at the distal portion of the flexible elongate member and proximate to the imaging array,
wherein the micro-beam-former IC is configured to separately beam-form signals received from each subarray of the plurality of subarrays; and
a plurality of coaxial cables coupled to the micro-beam-former IC and comprising
a plurality of signal lines, at least one power line, and at least one control line,
wherein a total quantity of the plurality of coaxial cables for the ICE catheter comprises more than 16 coaxial cables and less than 30 coaxial cables,
wherein each signal line of the plurality of signal lines is configured to carry the beam-formed signals respectively associated with one subarray of the plurality of subarrays from the imaging assembly to a processor coupled to a proximal end of the ICE catheter,
wherein a quantity of the plurality of signal lines is less than the quantity of the plurality of imaging elements such that the plurality of coaxial cables extends within the flexible elongate member while the flexible elongate member is advanced through the blood vessel.