Abstract: A method for providing intravascular brachytherapy includes the step of positioning a radiation source within a target area to be radiation and orienting the attenuator found on the catheter. Once the attenuator or shield is properly oriented, a reference or normalization point or marker (508) is selected. This reference marker (508) can placed, as one example, on the external elastic lamina closest to catheter (100) and can serve as a reference point for the brachytherapy treatment. Several other points of interest can be is selected (504, 506, 510) on the image (500) or images that have been gathered of the treatment site, with dosage levels (512, 522, 520 and 518) being display automatically on the display (406) close to the IVUS image (500).

Abstract: Ultrasonic imaging method and apparatus in which a reference waveform which is substantially free of echoes is modified to be equal to a weighted sum of the reference waveform and filtered signals from the transducing elements which transmit the ultrasonic waves and receive the reflected echoes. The modified waveform is then subtracted from the transducer signals to remove ringdown signals and provide a displayed image which is substantially free of ringdown artifacts.

Abstract: A blood flow detection and imaging method and system is described for displaying images in accordance with signals transmitted from an intravascular ultrasound transducer probe. The image processor includes means for independently designating persistence factors for smoothing calculated speed and power of the dynamic portion of a field of view within a vasculature. Furthermore, the designation of a particular image point within a field of view as a dynamic image point (such as a blood flow region) as opposed to a static image point (such as a tissue region) is determined by averaging signal values for image points proximate to an image point of interest over both time and space.