Shock wave source for extracorporeal lithotripsy
First Claim
1. A shock wave source for non-contacting disintegration of calculi in a patient comprising:
- a housing having an emission face;
a transducer arrangement in said housing consisting of a plurality of electro-acoustic transducers arranged on a concave surface, said transducer arrangement having an acoustic axis and each transducer having an acoustic axis in respective planes containing the acoustic axis of the transducer arrangement;
a shock wave-propagating medium disposed in said housing at least between said transducers and said emission face;
means for driving said transducers to generate shock waves in said medium adapted for disintegrating a calculus in a patient;
means for individually pivotally mounting each of said transducers so that the respective acoustic axes of said transducers are pivotable in said respective planes containing the acoustic axis of the transducer arrangement; and
means for adjustably controlling pivoting of said transducers in common so that their acoustic axes intersect at a focus on said acoustic axis of said transducer arrangement and for displacing said focus along said acoustic axis of said transducer arrangement.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A shock wave source for an extracorporeal lithotripsy system has a number of electro-acoustic transducers arranged in a concave surface, each transducer having an acoustic axis, and the shock wave source having an acoustic axis. The transducers are each pivotally mounted, and a common adjusting element is provided which pivots each of the transducers so that their acoustic axes intersect at a focus, which lies on the acoustic axis of the shock wave source. The common element also permits adjustment of the location of the focus along the shock wave source acoustic axis so as to be more distal or more proximate relative to the shock wave source.
110 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A shock wave source for non-contacting disintegration of calculi in a patient comprising:
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a housing having an emission face; a transducer arrangement in said housing consisting of a plurality of electro-acoustic transducers arranged on a concave surface, said transducer arrangement having an acoustic axis and each transducer having an acoustic axis in respective planes containing the acoustic axis of the transducer arrangement; a shock wave-propagating medium disposed in said housing at least between said transducers and said emission face; means for driving said transducers to generate shock waves in said medium adapted for disintegrating a calculus in a patient; means for individually pivotally mounting each of said transducers so that the respective acoustic axes of said transducers are pivotable in said respective planes containing the acoustic axis of the transducer arrangement; and means for adjustably controlling pivoting of said transducers in common so that their acoustic axes intersect at a focus on said acoustic axis of said transducer arrangement and for displacing said focus along said acoustic axis of said transducer arrangement. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A shock wave source for non-contacting disintegration of calculi in a patient comprising:
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a housing having an emission face; a plurality of electro-acoustic transducers arranged in groups in said housing, each transducer having an acoustic axis, said groups being arranged non-overlapping on a spherical surface with each group forming an annulus so that each group has an acoustic axis with the respective acoustic axes of said groups coinciding with a main acoustic axis; a propagation medium disposed in said housing at least between said transducers and said emission face; means for driving said transducers to generate shock waves in said medium adapted for disintegrating a calculus in a patient; means for individually pivotally mounting each of said transducers so that the respective acoustic axes of said transducers are pivotable in respective planes containing the main acoustic axis; and means for adjustably controlling pivoting of said transducers in common including a mechanical control element for each group of transducers, the respective control elements for the groups of transducers operating in common so that the acoustic axes of the transducers in said groups of said transducers intersect on said main acoustic axis at a focus and for displacing said focus along said main acoustic axis. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A shock wave source for non-contacting disintegration of calculi in a patient comprising:
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a housing having an emission face; a plurality of electro-acoustic transducers arranged in groups in said housing, each transducer having an acoustic axis, said groups being arranged non-overlapping on a spherical surface with each group forming an annulus so that each group has an acoustic axis with the respective acoustic axes of said groups coinciding with a main acoustic axis; a propagation medium disposed in said housing at least between said transducers and said emission face; plurality of drive units equal in number to the plurality of groups of transducers and respectively connected to the transducers in said groups of transducers for driving said transducers to generate shock waves in said medium adapted for disintegrating a calculus in a patient; means for individually pivotally mounting each of said transducers so that the acoustic axis of each transducer is pivotable in one of a plurality of planes containing the main acoustic axis, said means for pivoting including a plurality of levers respectively engaging said transducers, each lever having a free end; a plurality of commonly displaceable adjustment elements respectively associated with said groups of transducers, each adjustment element having a surface engaging the free ends of the levers attached to the transducers in the group of transducers associated therewith, and each adjustment element having a differently inclined surface engaging said levers attached to the transducers in a group so that said groups of transducers are respectively pivoted by different amounts by said adjustment elements so that the respective acoustic axes of said transducers intersect at a focus on said main acoustic axis and so that said focus is displaced along said main acoustic axis; means for measuring the amount of pivoting of said transducers; and means connected to said means for measuring and to said drive units for controlling said drive units with a chronological offset corresponding to said amount of pivoting of said transducers so that the shock waves generated by each transducer simultaneously arrive at said focus. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification