| CPC A61B 8/12 (2013.01) [A61B 8/4416 (2013.01); A61B 8/445 (2013.01); A61B 8/5261 (2013.01)] | 17 Claims |
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13. A method for operating an imaging probe having an axis and an outer sheath, the method comprising:
transmitting excitation light inside an optical member that extends along the axis inside the outer sheath between and connects a proximal end of the probe and an optical transceiver, which is directly affixed to a distal end of the optical member and secured in a fluidly sealed chamber that is filled with a fluid and that separates the optical transceiver from a liquid-filled lumen of the outer sheath, to deliver the excitation light from the optical member outside of the outer sheath through a first optical aperture defined by said chamber in the outer sheath in absence of a reflection off of a surface of an optical prism,
transmitting an electrical signal via an electrically-conducting member extending inside the sheath parallel to the optical member and connecting the proximal end of the probe and an acoustic transducer to generate a beam of acoustic energy at the acoustic transducer and to deliver said beam of acoustic energy from the acoustic transducer outside of the outer sheath through a second aperture defined by said chamber in the outer sheath,
wherein the first optical aperture and the second aperture are spatially coordinated with the optical transceiver and the acoustic transducer, respectively,
wherein the acoustic transducer is disposed sequentially with and at a distance from the optical transceiver along the axis, a wall of the fluidly sealed chamber separating the acoustic transducer and the optical transceiver, and
wherein the optical member is configured to transmit said excitation light in a core of the optical member, and further comprising transmitting a return light through a cladding of the optical member, said return light emitted at a location outside of the sheath in response to absorption of said excitation light at the location.
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