NONINVASIVE TREATMENT OF BLOOD VESSELS
First Claim
1. A non-invasive method for treating a spider vein, the method comprising:
- positioning an ultrasound probe on a skin surface, the ultrasound probe comprising at least one ultrasound therapy element;
imaging a region of interest under the skin surface, wherein the region of interest comprises a spider vein;
using the at least one ultrasound therapy element to create a plurality of thermal lesions in at least a portion of the spider vein in the region of interest,wherein the at least one ultrasound therapy element is configured to deliver ultrasound energy at a depth of up to about 7 mm below the skin surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A non-invasive method and system for using ultrasound energy for the treatment of conditions resulting from vascular disorders is provided. In one embodiment, an image-treatment approach can be used to locate the blood vessel to be treated and then to ablate it non-invasively, while also monitoring the progress of the treatment. In another embodiment, a transducer is configured to deliver ultrasound energy to the regions of the superficial tissue (e.g., skin) such that the energy is deposited at the particular depth at which the vascular malformations are located below the skin surface. The ultrasound transducer can be driven at a number of different frequency regimes such that the depth and shape of energy concentration can match the region of treatment.
120 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A non-invasive method for treating a spider vein, the method comprising:
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positioning an ultrasound probe on a skin surface, the ultrasound probe comprising at least one ultrasound therapy element; imaging a region of interest under the skin surface, wherein the region of interest comprises a spider vein; using the at least one ultrasound therapy element to create a plurality of thermal lesions in at least a portion of the spider vein in the region of interest, wherein the at least one ultrasound therapy element is configured to deliver ultrasound energy at a depth of up to about 7 mm below the skin surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for providing treatment of a vascular disorder, the method comprising:
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targeting therapeutic acoustic waves, via at least one ultrasound treatment element housed within an ultrasound probe, through a skin surface to treat a blood vessel under the skin surface; and activating phase focusing of the at least one ultrasound treatment element for controllably creating a plurality of thermal lesions along a line at a depth up to about 7 mm below the skin surface, wherein the activating phase focusing comprises varying at least one electronic time delay controlled by a control system in communication with the ultrasound probe, wherein the plurality of thermal lesions treats a vascular disorder in the blood vessel, and wherein the vascular disorder is selected from the group consisting of a spider vein, a hemangioma and a port wine stain. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for treating a vascular disorder, the method comprising:
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positioning an ultrasound probe on a skin surface proximate to at least one aberrant blood vessel; wherein the ultrasound probe comprises an ultrasound therapy element configured to deliver ultrasound energy at a frequency in a range of about 2 MHz to about 20 MHz; selecting an ultrasound probe configuration based on at least one of a spatial parameter and a temporal parameter; verifying the at least one of a spatial parameter and a temporal parameter of the probe; and using a motion mechanism to move the ultrasound therapy element to create a plurality of thermal lesions in at least a portion of the aberrant blood vessel; and using an ultrasound imaging element to image a region of interest under the skin surface comprising the aberrant blood vessel. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification