ULTRASONIC IMAGING DEVICE, SYSTEM AND METHOD OF USE

摘要

An ultrasonic probe (42) comprises an elongate structure having a longitudinal axis; a first array (50) of ultrasonic transducer elements extending along an outer surface of the elongate structure in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis; a second array (52) of ultrasonic transducer elements extending along the outer surface of the elongate structure in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis; and a third array (54) of ultrasonic transducer elements extending about the elongate structure in a direction so that it images a plane perpendicular to that imaged by at least one of the first array and the second array, the third array being disposed in a space between the first array and the second array, and an electronics module (100) for use with the probe (42), and an additional probe (19), to produce internal images of a patient.