Project Overview

Vascular reactivity studies will greatly increase the understanding of Atherosclerosis, an inflammation of the arteries. A possible complication of advanced Atherosclerosis is thrombosis, which in turn may lead to heart attacks or strokes. When examining how the brachial arteries react to occlusion, an ultrasonic probe must be held in the correct orientation for prolonged periods of time. Ultrasonic images are influenced by motion artifact caused by the sonographer’s movements. The development of a probe holder that would stabilize and consistently position the ultrasound probe would improve the quality of the sonogram. A prototype was constructed that enables the probe to be moved in six degrees of freedom while being attached to a table. The positioning of the probe can be adjusted by loosening one knob and moving the entire arm into the correct location before tightening the knob again. The table also contains a comfortable arm rest that stabilizes the patient’s arm. Future work includes testing the prototype to determine if it meets the sonographer’s requirements.

Team Picture

Files

• Product Design Specifications (March 4, 2010)
• Mid-Semester PowerPoint Slides (March 9, 2010)
• Outreach Summary (April 28, 2010)
• Final Poster (April 28, 2010)
• Final Report including Journal and Technical Paper (May 4, 2010)

Contact Information

Team Members

• Peter Kleinschmidt - Team Leader
• Leon Corbeille - Communicator
• Lein Ma - BSAC
• Mark Reagan - BWIG

Advisor and Client

• Prof. John Webster - Advisor
• James Stein - Client

Related Projects

• Spring 2010: Probe Holder
• Fall 2009: Probe Holder
• Spring 2009: Development of an ultrasound probe holder for arterial function testing