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Compressional wave hyperthermia treating method and apparatus

  • US 4,875,487 A
  • Filed: 05/02/1986
  • Issued: 10/24/1989
  • Est. Priority Date: 05/02/1986
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A method of treating a region of a subject with compressional wave energy derived from an array of ultrasonic transducers having a focused far field and a wide band pass frequency response and for analyzing matter of the subject in the path between the transducers and the region comprising the steps of from time to time exciting the transducers with pulse like ultrasonic electric energy having substantial frequency components in the band pass of the transducers, the transducers being excited while the region is in the focused far field of the array, the frequency and the transducer response being such that said frequency components are incident on the subject during said exciting step, the pulse like ultrasonic compressional wave energy from said transducers being reflected from certain regions internally of the subject back to the transducers while the transducers are no longer excited by the pulse like electric energy whereby the transducers derive electric signals having time positions and amplitudes together enabling information about different volumes in the subject between the array and the region to be determined, responding to the time positions of the derived electric signals to display the information, and supplying many cycles of treating hyperthermia ultrasonic electric energy to the transducers in the treating period between tow consecutive periods when the pulse like electric energy is exciting the transducers and the electric signals are being derived, the many cycles of ultrasonic electric energy being periodically disrupted for at least several cycles thereof and being supplied to the transducers while the region is in the focused far field and causing the transducers to be excited to derive in the subject many cycles of treating hyperthermia ultrasonic compressional wave energy having a frequency in the band pass of the transducers and having a duty cycle less than one, said method including the step of varying the duty cycle and amplitude of the compressional wave energy of at least one of said transducers in an inverse manner.

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