Interface for use between medical instrumentation and a patient
First Claim
1. An ultrasound coupling pad, comprising a gelatinous thermoplastic elastomer mass, said mass adapted to permit transmission of ultrasound energy through said mass, said mass comprising a patient surface configured to transmit the acoustic energy to tissues of a patient either directly or through other materials and a transducer surface configured to receive the acoustic energy from one or more ultrasound transducers either directly or through other materials.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed herein are methods, devices, compositions, and systems for providing an interface between medical instrumentation and a patient. In various embodiments, the interface provides a sterile barrier, acoustic coupler, and thermal insulator between the patient and a medical instrument. In some embodiments, an acoustic coupler interface is used between an ultrasound instrument and a patient. In some embodiments, the acoustic coupler comprises a thermoplastic elastomer (“TPE”) and in particular oil-enhanced or gelatinous TPEs that can be used in diagnostic and therapeutic (HIFU) ultrasound procedures.
161 Citations
77 Claims
- 1. An ultrasound coupling pad, comprising a gelatinous thermoplastic elastomer mass, said mass adapted to permit transmission of ultrasound energy through said mass, said mass comprising a patient surface configured to transmit the acoustic energy to tissues of a patient either directly or through other materials and a transducer surface configured to receive the acoustic energy from one or more ultrasound transducers either directly or through other materials.
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14. An ultrasound coupling pad, comprising:
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a gelatinous thermoplastic elastomer mass, said mass adapted to permit transmission of ultrasound energy through the mass; and
a housing contacting at least some surfaces of the mass for stably holding said mass, said housing adapted to couple to an ultrasound applicator, wherein when said housing is coupled to said ultrasound applicator, at least one surface of the mass is held in close proximity to one or more ultrasound transducers in said ultrasound applicator. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. An ultrasound coupling pad, comprising:
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a gelatinous thermoplastic elastomer mass, said mass adapted to permit transmission of ultrasound energy through the mass; and
a housing contacting at least some surfaces of the mass for stably holding the mass, said housing comprising an adhesive coating on a least a portion of the housing'"'"'s outer surface, said adhesive adapted to adhere the housing to a patient, wherein when said housing is adhered to said patient, at least one surface of the mass is held in close proximity to the patient. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. An ultrasound coupling pad, comprising:
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a first gelatinous solid mass, said first mass optimized to permit transmission of ultrasound energy having a first frequency through said mass; and
a second gelatinous solid mass, said second mass comprising a different chemical composition than the first mass and optimized to permit transmission of ultrasound energy having a second frequency through said mass, wherein said second frequency is different from said first frequency. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A sterile barrier for use between a patient and an instrument, comprising:
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a flexible sheath adapted to prevent passage of microbes from one side of the sheath to the other;
said sheath comprising an openable seal, wherein when said seal is closed, said seal prevents passage of microbes from one side of the seal to the other;
said sheath configured to have a predeployed state and a postdeployed state, wherein in said predeployed state, the seal is closed and the flexible sheath with closed seal form a continuous barrier having no opening therein and having no edges, said continuous-barrier having an inside surface and an outside surface, wherein said inside surface is sterilized, and wherein in the postdeployed state, the flexible barrier is inverted such that the sterilized inside surface faces outward and the outside surface faces inward and is placed in contact with a medical instrument, thereby providing a barrier between the medical instrument and the sterilized surface of the sheath. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A sterile barrier for use between a patient and an ultrasound applicator, comprising:
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a flexible sheath adapted to prevent passage of microbes from one side of the sheath to the other, said sheath adapted to surround an ultrasound applicator; and
a gelatinous solid mass adapted to permit transmission of ultrasound energy through said mass and prevent passage of microbes from one side of the mass to the other, said mass coupled to the flexible sheath such that when the sheath surrounds the ultrasound applicator, the mass may be placed in close proximity to one or more ultrasound transducers in the ultrasound applicator. - View Dependent Claims (35)
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36. An ultrasound coupling pad kit, comprising:
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a sterilized gelatinous thermoplastic elastomer mass, said mass adapted to permit transmission of ultrasound energy through said mass; and
a protective barrier surrounding at least a portion of the mass, said barrier adapted to prevent passage of microbes from one side of the barrier to the other, thereby maintaining sterility of the mass, at least a portion of the barrier adapted to be removed from surrounding the mass prior to use of the mass for transmission of ultrasound energy. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38)
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39. A kit for a sterile barrier for use between a patient and an ultrasound applicator, comprising:
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a flexible sheath adapted to prevent passage of microbes from one side of the sheath to the other, said sheath adapted to surround an ultrasound applicator, at least one surface of the flexible sheath sterilized; and
a gelatinous solid mass adapted to permit transmission of ultrasound energy through said mass, said mass comprising a sterilized patient surface configured to transmit the acoustic energy to tissues of a patient either directly or through other materials and a transducer surface configured to receive the acoustic energy from one or more ultrasound transducers in said ultrasound applicator either directly or through other materials. - View Dependent Claims (40)
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41. An ultrasound coupling pad, comprising:
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a gelatinous thermoplastic elastomer mass, said mass adapted to permit transmission of ultrasound energy through said mass; and
a means for coupling said mass to an ultrasound applicator.
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42. An ultrasound coupling pad, comprising:
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a gelatinous thermoplastic elastomer mass, said mass adapted to permit transmission of ultrasound energy through said mass; and
a means for coupling said mass to a patient.
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43. A sterile barrier for use between a patient and an ultrasound applicator, comprising:
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a gelatinous solid mass, said mass adapted to permit transmission of ultrasound energy through said mass and prevent passage of microbes from one side of the mass to the other;
a means for preventing passage of microbes from at a least a portion of an ultrasound applicator'"'"'s surface to a patient;
a means for coupling said gelatinous solid mass to said means for preventing passage of microbes.
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44. A method of transmitting ultrasound energy from an ultrasound transducer to tissue of a patient, comprising:
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positioning one surface of a gelatinous thermoplastic elastomer mass in close proximity to an ultrasound transducer, said mass adapted to permit transmission of ultrasound energy through said mass;
positioning another surface of the gelatinous thermoplastic elastomer mass in close proximity to tissue of a patient; and
energizing the ultrasound transducer such that ultrasound energy passes from the ultrasound transducer, through the mass, and into the tissue of the patient. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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53. A method of acoustic hemostasis, comprising:
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positioning one surface of a gelatinous solid mass in close proximity to a wound on a patient, said mass adapted to permit transmission of ultrasound energy through said mass;
applying sufficient pressure to the gelatinous solid mass so as to temporarily stop or slow bleeding from said wound; and
transmitting ultrasound energy through said mass into said wound, thereby stopping bleeding from said wound. - View Dependent Claims (54)
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55. A method of providing a sterile barrier between a patient and a medical instrument, comprising:
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opening a seal in a flexible sheath, said sheath adapted to prevent passage of microbes from one side of the sheath to the other, the seal disposed on said sheath, wherein when said seal is closed, said seal prevents passage of microbes from one side of the seal to the other, wherein prior to opening the seal, the flexible sheath with closed seal forms a continuous barrier having no opening therein and having no edges, said continuous barrier having an inside surface and an outside surface, wherein said inside surface is sterilized;
contacting a medical instrument with said outside surface of the flexible sheath; and
inverting the flexible sheath so that the sterilized inside surface faces outward and the outside surface faces inward in contact with the medical instrument, thereby providing a barrier between the medical instrument and the sterilized surface of the sheath. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. A method of providing a sterile barrier for use between a patient and an ultrasound applicator, comprising:
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inserting an ultrasound applicator within a flexible sheath adapted to prevent passage of microbes from one side of the sheath to the other; and
coupling a gelatinous solid mass to the ultrasound applicator in close proximity to one or more ultrasound transducers, the gelatinous solid mass adapted to permit transmission of ultrasound energy through said mass and prevent passage of microbes from one side of the mass to the other. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63)
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64. A method of providing a sterile barrier for use between a patient and an ultrasound applicator, comprising:
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coupling a gelatinous solid mass to an ultrasound applicator in close proximity to one or more ultrasound transducers, the gelatinous solid mass adapted to permit transmission of ultrasound energy through said mass and prevent passage of microbes from one side of the mass to the other, said mass comprising a sterilized patient surface and a protective barrier applied to the surface, whereby sterility of the surface is maintained; and
removing the protective barrier from the patient surface. - View Dependent Claims (65, 66)
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67. A method of providing a sterile barrier for use between a patient and an ultrasound applicator, comprising:
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removing a protective barrier from a patient surface of gelatinous solid mass, the mass adapted to permit transmission of ultrasound energy therethrough and prevent passage of microbes from one side of the mass to the other, the protective barrier applied to the patient surface of the mass to maintain sterility of the surface prior to use; and
coupling the gelatinous solid mass to a patient so that the patient surface is in close proximity to the patient.
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- 68. A method of optimizing a thermoplastic elastomer for use as an acoustic coupler, the thermoplastic elastomer comprising a soft block segment, a hard block segment, and one or more modifier, the modifier selected from the group consisting of a hard block compatible modifier and a soft block compatible modifier, the method comprising varying at least one of the soft block segment, the hard block segment, and the modifier until an elastomer having one or more desired properties is obtained.
Specification