Preclinical Testing of Frequency-Tunable Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer Probe Prototypes

In intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) it may be beneficial to generate ultrasound images acquired at multiple frequencies, having the possibility of high penetration or high-resolution imaging in a single device. The objective of the presented work is to test two frequency-tunable probe prototypes in a preclinical setting: a rigid probe having a diameter of 11 mm and a new flexible and steerable 12-Fr ICE catheter. Both probes feature a forward-looking 32-element capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer array (aperture of 2 × 2 mm²) operated in collapse mode, which allows for frequency tuning in the 6-MHz-18-MHz range. The rigid probe prototype is tested ex vivo in a passive heart platform. Images of an aortic valve acquired in high-penetration (6 MHz), generic (12 MHz) and high-resolution (18 MHz) mode combine satisfying image quality and penetration depth between 2.5 cm and 10 cm. The ICE catheter prototype is tested in vivo using a porcine animal model. Images of an aortic valve are acquired in the 3 imaging modes with the ICE catheter placed in an ascending aorta at multiple depths. It was found that the combination of the forward-looking design and frequency-tuning capability allows visualizing intracardiac structures of various sizes at different distances relative to the catheter tip, providing both wide overviews and detailed close-ups.