Electrode Array and Moveable Ultrasound Transducer for Tissue Impedance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical diagnostic tools face limitations in simultaneously providing high-resolution imaging and non-invasive, radiation-free detection of tissue characteristics, particularly in distinguishing healthy from non-healthy tissues using electrical impedance and ultrasound scanning.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method combining electrical impedance detection and ultrasound scanning, where an electrode array and a moveable ultrasound transducer work in conjunction to apply signals and capture response signals, ensuring high spatial correlation and enabling simultaneous imaging of body tissue features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If electrical impedance detection is used to detect tissue characteristics non-invasively without ionizing radiation, then safety and non-invasiveness are improved, but imaging resolution and diagnostic precision are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines electrical impedance detection and ultrasound scanning into a single integrated system that simultaneously acquires both electrical impedance data and ultrasound images from the same tissue region, allowing the strengths of both methods to complement each other while maintaining non-invasive operation
Solution Approach 2:
The apparatus performs multiple diagnostic functions through a single system: electrical impedance measurement for tissue characterization and ultrasound imaging for anatomical visualization, enabling one device to provide comprehensive diagnostic information that neither method could provide alone
2Measurement precision
If ultrasound scanning is used to provide high resolution imaging, then imaging resolution is improved, but the ability to detect electrical impedance characteristics of tissue is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system integrates an ultrasound transducer array and electrode array in the same probe housing, enabling simultaneous acquisition of high-resolution ultrasound images and electrical impedance measurements from identical tissue regions, thereby maintaining both imaging resolution and electrical detection capabilities
3Device complexity
If separate electrode array and ultrasound transducer are used, then device complexity is reduced, but spatial correlation between electrical impedance data and ultrasound images deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode array and ultrasound transducer array are integrated into a single unified probe assembly with coordinated geometry, ensuring that both measurement modalities target the exact same tissue region simultaneously, thereby maximizing spatial correlation despite the increased structural integration
Solution Approach 2:
The probe design assigns specific spatial positions and orientations to both electrodes and ultrasound transducers within the same housing, optimizing the local arrangement of each component to maintain their respective measurement qualities while achieving precise spatial correspondence between the two measurement types
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This combination allows for enhanced detection and characterization of body tissue features by correlating electrical impedance and ultrasound data, providing improved diagnostic accuracy and resolution without the need for invasive procedures or ionizing radiation.
Implementation Method 1
electrical impedance detection by applying a first electrical signal to the body tissue, receiving an electrical response signal characteristic of the body tissue
Implementation Method 2
ultrasound scanning by applying a first ultrasound signal to the body tissue, receiving an ultrasound response signal characteristic of the body tissue
Implementation Method 3
The transducers then convert the received ultrasound energy into electrical signals
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for performing electrical impedance detection and ultrasound scanning of body tissue, the apparatus including: an electrode array for performing electrical impedance detection by applying a first electrical signal to the body tissue, receiving an electrical response signal characteristic of the body tissue, and providing a first output signal representative of the electrical response signal; and an ultrasound transducer for performing ultrasound scanning by applying a first ultrasound signal to the body tissue, receiving an ultrasound response signal characteristic of the body tissue, and providing a second output signal representative of the ultrasound response signal, wherein the ultrasound transducer is mounted so as to be moveable during performance of the ultrasound scanning.