PULSED CAVITATIONAL ULTRASOUND THERAPY
First Claim
1. A method for controlled mechanical sub-division of soft tissue within a tissue volume, said method comprising:
- outputting an initiation sequence directed at nuclei within cells of the soft tissue resulting in cavitation within the cells;
detecting formation of a bubble cloud in the soft tissue resulting from said cavitation within the cells;
outputting a bubble cloud sustaining sequence; and
outputting a therapy sequence which interacts with said bubble cloud to produce homogenization of the cell of the soft tissue.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Therapy methods using pulsed cavitational ultrasound therapy can include the subprocesses of initiation, maintenance, therapy, and feedback of the histotripsy process, which involves the creation and maintenance of ensembles of microbubbles and the use of feedback in order to optimize the process based on observed spatial-temporal bubble cloud dynamics. The methods provide for the subdivision or erosion of tissue, liquification of tissue, and the enhanced delivery of therapeutic agents. Various feedback mechanisms allow variation of ultrasound parameters and provide control over the pulsed cavitational process, permitting the process to be tuned for a number of applications. Such applications can include specific tissue erosion, bulk tissue homogenization, and delivery of therapeutic agents across barriers.
147 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method for controlled mechanical sub-division of soft tissue within a tissue volume, said method comprising:
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outputting an initiation sequence directed at nuclei within cells of the soft tissue resulting in cavitation within the cells; detecting formation of a bubble cloud in the soft tissue resulting from said cavitation within the cells; outputting a bubble cloud sustaining sequence; and outputting a therapy sequence which interacts with said bubble cloud to produce homogenization of the cell of the soft tissue. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for controlled mechanical sub-division of soft tissue within a tissue volume, said method comprising:
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actuating a transducer to output an initiation pulse sequence directed at nuclei within cells of the soft tissue resulting in cavitation within the cells; detecting initiation of a bubble cloud in the soft tissue resulting from said cavitation within the cells in response to said initiation pulse sequence; actuating said transducer to output a bubble cloud maintenance and sustaining pulse sequence; and actuating said transducer to output a therapy pulse sequence which generates and interacts with said bubble cloud to homogenize the cells of the soft tissue. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A method for controlled mechanical sub-division of soft tissue within a tissue volume, said method comprising:
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actuating a first transducer to output an initiation pulse sequence directed at nuclei within cells of the soft tissue resulting in cavitation within the cells; detecting initiation of a bubble cloud in the soft tissue resulting from said cavitation within the cells in response to said initiation pulse sequence; actuating a second transducer to output a bubble cloud maintenance and sustaining pulse sequence; and actuating a third transducer to output a therapy pulse sequence which generates and interacts with said bubble cloud to homogenize the cells of the soft tissue. - View Dependent Claims (39)
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Specification