Three-Dimensional Intravascular Ultrasound Imaging Using a Miniature Helical Ultrasonic Motor

Existing 3-D intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) systems that combine two electromagnetic (EM) motors to drive catheters are bulky and require considerable efforts to eliminate EM interference (EMI). Here, we propose a new scanning method to realize 3-D IVUS imaging using a helical ultrasonic motor to overcome the aforementioned issues. The ultrasonic motor with compact dimensions (7-mm outer diameter and 30-mm longitudinal length), lightweight (20.5 g), and free of EMI exhibits a great application potential in mobile imaging devices. In particular, it can simultaneously perform rotary and linear motions, facilitating precise 3-D scanning of an imaging catheter. Experimental results show that the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of raw images obtained using the ultrasonic motor is 5.3 dB better than that of an EM motor. Moreover, the proposed imaging device exhibits the maximum rotary speed of 12.3 r/s and the positioning accuracy of 2.6 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">mu text{m} </tex-math></inline-formula> at a driving voltage of 240 V_p-p. The 3-D wire phantom imaging and 3-D tube phantom imaging are performed to evaluate the performance of the imaging device. Finally, the <italic>in vitro</italic> imaging of a porcine coronary artery demonstrates that the layered architecture of the vessel can be precisely identified while significantly increasing the SNR of the raw images.