A smart look into your heart: miniature probes for 3D ultrasonic imaging
Themes: Life Science & Health
Late lab scale demonstration
A TRL is a measure to indicate the matureness of a developing technology. When an innovative idea is discovered it is often not directly suitable for application. Usually such novel idea is subjected to further experimentation, testing and prototyping before it can be implemented. The image below shows how to read TRL’s to categorise the innovative ideas.
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Why?
Real-time 3D ultrasonic imaging from an endoscope or catheter would be extremely valuable for diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, this requires the connection of >1000 ultrasonic transducer elements in a mm-size probe.
How?
The strategy is to integrate a chip directly behind the elements that combines and digitises the received signals and sends them to an imaging system using a small number of micro-cables.
When?
While a first generation of analogue chips makes its way into commercial endoscope-based probes, we are developing innovative integrated electronics that will allow full digitisation and further probe-miniaturisation for catheters and intra-vascular imaging.
Dr. ir. Michiel Pertijs