Advances in ultrasound technology have made these latest experiments possible, the researchers said, by generating detailed, 3-D moving images in real-time. The Duke laboratory has a long track record of modifying traditional 2-D ultrasound like that used to image babies in utero into the more advanced 3-D scans. After inventing the technique in 1991, the team also has shown its utility in developing specialized catheters and endoscopes for real-time imaging of blood vessels in the heart and brain.

After testing many iterations of the design of the probe, also known as a transducer, the engineers came up with a novel approach lining the front rim of the catheter sheath with 108 miniature transducers.


"These tiny transducers work together to create one large transducer, working much like the compound eyes of insects," Light explained.

In the first experiment, the new probe successfully guided the placement of a filter in a simulated vena cava, the large vein that carries deoxygenated blood from the lower extremities to the back to heart. Patients with clots in their legs known as deep vein thrombosis who cannot get clot-busting drugs often receive these filters to prevent the clots dislodging and traveling to the heart and lungs.

The second experiment involved the placement of abdominal aorta aneurysm stent grafts, which are large synthetic "tubes" used to patch weakened areas of the aorta that are at risk of bursting.

"I believe we have shown that 3-D ultrasound clearly works in a wide variety of interventional procedures," Smith said. "We envision a time in the not-too-distant future when this technology becomes standard equipment in various catheter kits."

The research in Smith's lab is supported by the National Institutes of Health. John Angle of the University of Virgina was also a member of the research team.

Source: Duke University Pratt School of Engineering

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