Transesophageal and transnasal, transesophageal ultrasound imaging systems .

摘要

- A transesophageal ultrasound imaging system (10) for imaging biological tissue including a TEE probe (12) comprising an elongated semi-flexible body with a distal end, an articulating region coupled to the distal end of the elongated semi-flexible body; a distal tip coupled to the distal end of the articulating region; a probe handle (14) coupled to a proximal end of the elongated semi-flexible body, the probe handle including a positioning control (15) coupled to the articulating region by means of the elongated semi-flexible body; and a matrix two-dimensional ultrasound transducer array located at the distal tip. The matrix two-dimensional ultrasound transducer array is operable to electronically steer beams over more than two planes of a volumetric region.