The musocal surface of the intestine may be inspected by physicians using flexible fiberoptic endoscopes. Ultrasound energy can be used with these endoscopes to interrogate beyond the surface of the intestine and acquire information about the wall and adjacent tissue. Combined ultrasonic and fiberoptic probes have been built for this purpose, but the combination of both modalities results in a complex endsocope. Alternatively, we have developed miniature ultrasonic probes that can be used as an accessory devices for standard endoscopes. Probes have been built to obtain either a cross sectional image of the wall or acquire blood flow information. Technical details of the probes, their fabrication, and representative results are given.

Date Published: 8 April 1988
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 0904, Microsensors and Catheter-Based Imaging Technology, (8 April 1988); doi: 10.1117/12.945244

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0904:
Microsensors and Catheter-Based Imaging Technology
Alan I. West, Editor(s)