Acoustic imaging

Claim 2

In an assembly for acoustically imaging portions of the internal morphology of the respiratory tract of a mammal, including a human, the improvement which comprises a lightweight, easy to manipulate, hand-held acoustic imaging head which is rugged and entirely hand supportable and operable by an operator, throughout an imaging procedure, which head comprises; A. a rugged hand-holdable housing having 1. an elongate body, defined by (a) a top end; (b) a base end; (c) an outer wall extending between the top end and the base end; and (d) an internal chamber; 2. an aperture through the housing top end, providing fluid communication between the internal chamber and the outside of the housing; and 3. a shape and configuration of the outer wall facilitating gripping of the housing with a human hand; B. an acoustic pipe for transmitting acoustical energy and receiving the reflected acoustical energy, mounted in the aperture said pipe having a first end within the chamber and an open second end outside of the housing, said second end of the acoustic pipe being adapted for connection of the acoustic pipe to an orifice leading into the respiratory tract; C. a launching transducer mounted in the chamber and coupled to the first end of the acoustic tube, for launching acoustical energy into the acoustic pipe, propagating an incident wave out of the open second end; D. at least one acoustic pressure wave sensing transducer mounted on the acoustic pipe at a location between the first and second ends of the acoustic pipe for sensing reflections of the incident wave, received back in the acoustic tube through the open second end and generating a signal; and E. means at least partially within the chamber, connected to the acoustic wave sensing transducer, for transmission of echo signals transduced, to processor means for processing said echo signals into an acoustic image signal characteristic of the morphology of a site within the mammal's respiratory tract.

Claim 3

The head of claim 1 which further comprises a coupling device mounted on the open second end of the acoustic pipe, for coupling the head to an orifice in the respiratory tract.

Claim 4

The head of claim 2 wherein the device is adapted by size and configuration to couple with the nostril of a mammal.

Claim 5

The head of claim 1 wherein the acoustic pipe has a length of from about 5 to about 15 cm.

Claim 6

The head of claim 1 wherein the first and second pressure-wave sensing transducers are spaced apart from each other by a distance of from about 1 to about 15 cm.

Claim 7

A light weight, easy to manipulate with one hand, hand-holdable and operable acoustic imaging device for acoustically imaging portions of the internal morphology of the respiratory tract of a mammal, which comprises; A. a rugged hand-holdable housing having 1. an elongate body, defined by (a) a top end; (b) a base end; (c) an outer wall extending between the top end and the base end; and (d) an internal chamber; 2. an aperture through the housing top end, providing fluid communication between the internal chamber and the outside of the housing; and 3. a shape and configuration of the outer wall facilitating gripping of the housing with a human hand; B. an acoustic pipe for transmitting acoustical energy and receiving the reflected acoustical energy, mounted in the aperture, said pipe having a first end within the chamber and an open second end outside of the housing, said second end of the acoustic pipe being adapted for connection of the acoustic pipe to an orifice leading into the respiratory tract; C. a launching transducer mounted on the housing and coupled to the first end of the acoustic tube, for launching acoustical energy into the acoustic pipe, propagating an incident wave out of the open second end; D. at least first and second acoustic pressure wave sensing transducers mounted on the acoustic pipe at locations between the first and second ends of the acoustic pipe in spaced relationship from each other, for sensing reflections of the incident wave, received back in the acoustic tube through the open second end and generating a signal; E. means connected to the acoustic wave sensing transducers, for transmission of signals transduced, to processor means for processing said signals into a processor output signal characteristic of the morphology of a site within the animal's respiratory tract; F. means connected to the launching transducer for energizing the launching transducer; G. means for processing the generated signal from the transducers into an output signal characteristic of the morphology of a site within the animal's respiratory tract.

Claim 8

A light weight, easy to manipulate with one hand, hand-holdable and operable acoustic imaging device for acoustically imaging portions of the internal morphology of the respiratory tract of a mammal, which comprises; A. a rugged hand-holdable housing having 1. an elongate body, defined by (a) a top end; (b) a base end; (c) an outer wall extending between the top end and the base end; and (d) an internal chamber; 2. an aperture through the housing top end, providing fluid communication between the internal chamber and the outside of the housing; and 3. a shape and configuration of the outer wall facilitating gripping of the housing with a human hand; B. an acoustic pipe for transmitting acoustical energy and receiving the reflected acoustical energy, mounted in the aperture, said pipe having a first end within the chamber and an open second end outside of the housing, said second end of the acoustic pipe being adapted for connection of the acoustic pipe to an orifice leading into the respiratory tract; C. a launching transducer mounted on the housing and coupled to the first end of the acoustic tube, for launching acoustical energy into the acoustic pipe, propagating an incident wave out of the open second end; D. at least first and second acoustic pressure wave sensing transducers mounted on the acoustic pipe at locations between the first and second ends of the acoustic pipe in spaced relationship from each other, for sensing reflections of the incident wave, received back in the acoustic tube through the open second end and generating a signal; E. means connected to the acoustic wave sensing transducers, for transmission of signals transduced, to processor means for processing said signals into a processor output signal characteristic of the morphology of a site within the animal's respiratory tract; F. means connected to the launching transducer for energizing the launching transducer; G. means for processing the generated signal from the transducers into an output signal characteristic of the morphology of a site within the animal's respiratory tract.

Claim 9

The device of claim 6 wherein the processor means is mounted on the housing.

Claim 10

The device of claim 6 which further comprises a power source mounted in the housing for energizing the launching transducer.

Claim 11

The device of claim 6 wherein the acoustic pipe has a length of from about 5 to about 40 cm.

Claim 12

The device of claim 9 wherein the first and second pressure-wave sensing transducers are spaced apart a distance of from about 1 to about 15 cm.

Claim 13

The device of claim 6 which further comprises a coupling device for sealing engagement of the open end of the acoustic pipe with an orifice into the respiratory tract.

Claim 14

The device of claim 11 wherein the coupling device is fabricated from a polysiloxane rubber.

Claim 15

The device of claim 1 which further comprises a display means for displaying graphically an image generated by the output signal.

Claim 16

The device of claim 1 wherein controls for the processing means are positioned on the housing at sites accessible to the operator's hand hold.