Granted Patent B2

US 12,685,839 · App. 16/653,594 · Granted Jul 21, 2026

Inventor: Daniel B. Blanchard (Bountiful, UT)

Assignee: C. R. Bard, Inc.

A61M25/0127A61B5/062A61B5/283A61B8/0833A61B8/0841A61B34/20A61B5/064A61B2034/2051A61B2090/378A61B2090/3954

Abstract

Claims (13)

1 . A needle assembly for use with a handheld ultrasound probe, the handheld ultrasound probe including a plurality of magnetic sensors configured to detect a magnetic field, the needle assembly comprising:

a hub;

a needle distally extending from the hub along a longitudinal axis, the needle including an outer wall circumscribing a lumen and a distal needle tip; and

a cylindrical permanent magnet positioned in a cylindrical notch defined in the outer wall of the needle proximate the distal needle tip, the cylindrical permanent magnet producing a magnetic field strength capable of detection by the plurality of magnetic sensors of the handheld ultrasound probe,

further comprising the handheld ultrasound probe, wherein the plurality of magnetic sensors of the handheld ultrasound probe are embedded in a housing of the handheld ultrasound probe, and wherein the plurality of magnetic sensors consist of five magnetic sensors.

2 . The needle assembly as defined in claim 1 , wherein the cylindrical permanent magnet includes a magnetic axis that is substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the needle.

3 . The needle assembly as defined in claim 1 , wherein the cylindrical permanent magnet includes a first permanent magnet and a second permanent magnet that together form the cylindrical permanent magnet.

4 . The needle assembly as defined in claim 3 , wherein the first permanent magnet and the second permanent magnet are each substantially U-shaped.

5 . The needle assembly as defined in claim 1 , further comprising a needle holder configured to enable a user to hold and advance the needle during an ultrasound imaging and needle guidance procedure.

6 . The needle assembly as defined in claim 5 , wherein the needle holder is pistol-shaped and includes a trigger.

7 . The needle assembly as defined in claim 6 , wherein the trigger is configured to selectively advance the needle by moving the needle longitudinally away from a barrel of the needle holder upon actuation of the trigger.

8 . The needle assembly as defined in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of magnetic sensors are disposed in a planar configuration below a top face of the handheld ultrasound probe.

9 . The needle assembly as defined in claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of magnetic sensors comprise three orthogonal sensor coils for enabling detection of the magnetic field in three spatial dimensions.

Continuity (16)

References Cited (400)