In this study we examine the feasibility of using high resolution ultrasonic imaging to monitor and control tissue removal by laser. Design goals for the imaging system are that it be capable of determining the location and thickness of target lesions and adjacent and underlying normal structures, as well as the extent of ablative removal and thermal damage underlying the ablation zone. The prototype devices discussed here employed a single ultrasonic transducer operating in pulse-echo mode. Measurements have been performed on in vitro tissue samples. Information obtained includes vessel and lesional thickness as successive tissue layers are removed from the vessel wall by laser action. Later, observations and processing algorithms can be transferred to scanned or phased array devices. This information should enable the ablation process to be controlled so as to preferentially remove lesional material and to minimize the danger of vessel perforation and damage to normal tissue.

Date Published: 8 August 1989
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 1068, Catheter-Based Sensing and Imaging Technology, (8 August 1989); doi: 10.1117/12.952185

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1068:
Catheter-Based Sensing and Imaging Technology
Alan I. West, Editor(s)