The technology for a device that would provide real-time 3D imaging from inside the heart, coronary arteries, and peripheral blood vessels has been developed by Georgia Institute of Technology researchers.
With its volumetric imaging, the new device could better guide surgeons working in the heart and allow more of patients’ clogged arteries to be cleared without major surgery.
The device integrates ultrasound transducers with processing electronics on a single 1.4 millimeter CMOS silicon chip. On-chip processing of signals allows data from more than a hundred elements on the device to be transmitted using just 13 tiny cables, permitting it to easily travel through circuitous blood vessels.
The forward-looking images produced by the device would provide significantly more information than existing cross-sectional ultrasound.