Ultrasound therapeutic apparatus

• US 6,267,734 B1
• Filed: 06/18/1999
• Issued: 07/31/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Takuji, Aida, Satoshi, Fujimoto, Katsuhiko, Shibata, Mariko, Ishibashi, Yoshiharu
• Primary Examiner(s): Lateef, Marvin M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shaw, Shawna J.
• Application Number:
  US09/335,915
• Time in Patent Office: 774 Days
• Field of Search: 601/2, 601/3, 600/439, 600/440, 600/441, 600/443
• US Class Current: 601/2
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/2256 with means for locating or checking the concrement, e.g. X-ray apparatus, imaging means A61B17/2255 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00084 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00119 alarm; indicating an abnormal situation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/102 Modelling of surgical devices, implants or prosthesis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/374 NMR or MRI
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/378 using ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/20 Surgical navigation systems; Devices for tracking or guiding surgical instruments, e.g. for frameless stereotaxis
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 7/00 Ultrasound therapy lithotripsy A61B17/22, A61B17/225; massage using supersonic vibration A61H23/00 ; using ultrasound for introducing media into the body A61M37/0092
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 7/02 Localised ultrasound hyperthermia hyperthermia in general A61F7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8922 the array being concentric or annular
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/895 characterised by the transmitted frequency spectrum
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8979 Combined Doppler and pulse-echo imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/899 Combination of imaging systems with ancillary equipment
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52026 Extracting wanted echo signals Doppler systems G01S15/50; Doppler short range imaging systems G01S15/8979
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52033 Gain control of receivers for seismic signals G01V1/245
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52049 using correction of medium-induced phase aberration
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52063 Sector scan display
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52071 Multicolour displays; using colour coding; Optimising colour or information content in displays, e.g. parametric imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52073 Production of cursor lines, markers or indicia by electronic means

Abstract

An ultrasonic therapeutic apparatus consisting of a therapeutic ultrasonic wave generating source driven by a driver circuit to generate therapeutic ultrasonic waves, an in vivo imaging probe so as to obtain a tissue tomographic image in the vicinity of the focus of the therapeutic ultrasonic waves. The imaging probe is used to receive echoes of the ultrasonic pulses emitted from therapeutic ultrasonic wave generating source. The driving conditions for the therapeutic ultrasonic wave generating source is adjusted on the basis of a received echo signal. The received echo signal contains information about actual intensity of the therapeutic ultrasonic waves within a living body, thus improving the safety and reliability of therapy.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic therapeutic apparatus comprising:

a therapeutic ultrasonic wave generating source having resonant characteristics for a first fundamental frequency;

an ultrasonic probe having resonant characteristics for the first fundamental frequency and a second fundamental frequency;

driving means for driving said therapeutic ultrasonic wave generating source with a drive signal of said first fundamental frequency;

driving means for driving said ultrasonic probe with a drive signal of said second fundamental frequency to generate in vivo imaging ultrasonic waves;

receiving means for receiving echoes of first ultrasonic waves generated by said therapeutic ultrasonic wave generating source and echoes of second ultrasonic waves generated by said ultrasonic probe through said ultrasonic probe; and

forming means for forming at least an intensity distribution image of said therapeutic ultrasonic waves in a subject or a tomographic image of the subject on the basis of a received echo signal output from said receiving means.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said driving means with said drive signal of said first fundamental frequency outputs at least two types of waves, a high energy burst wave for therapy and a low energy pulse wave for intensity distribution imaging inside a subject.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising extracting means connected between said receiving means and said forming means for extracting echo components of said first ultrasonic waves and echo components of said second ultrasonic waves from said received echo signal.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said extracting means includes means for amplifying echo components of said first ultrasonic waves and echo components of said second ultrasonic waves individually.

5. An ultrasonic therapeutic apparatus comprising:

a therapeutic ultrasonic wave generating source having resonant characteristics for first and second fundamental frequencies;

an ultrasonic probe having resonant characteristics for said second fundamental frequency;

driving means for driving said therapeutic ultrasonic wave generating source with a drive signal of said first fundamental frequency at therapy time and with a drive signal of said second fundamental frequency at intensity distribution imaging time;

driving means for driving said ultrasonic probe with a drive signal of said second fundamental frequency to generate in vivo imaging ultrasonic waves;

receiving means for, at intensity distribution imaging time, receiving echoes of said therapeutic ultrasonic waves having a spectrum centered at said second fundamental frequency and echoes of said imaging ultrasonic waves having a spectrum centered at said second fundamental frequency; and

forming means for forming at least an intensity distribution image of said therapeutic ultrasonic waves in a subject or a tomographic image of the subject on the basis of a received echo signal output from said receiving means.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the energy of said first drive signal is higher than that of said second drive signal.

7. An ultrasonic therapeutic apparatus comprising:

a therapeutic ultrasonic wave generating source having resonant characteristics for a first fundamental frequency;

an ultrasonic probe having resonant characteristics for a second fundamental frequency;

driving means for driving said therapeutic ultrasonic wave generating source with a drive signal of said first fundamental frequency;

driving means for driving said ultrasonic probe with a drive signal of said second fundamental frequency to generate in vivo imaging ultrasonic waves;

receiving means for receiving echoes of first ultrasonic waves generated by said therapeutic ultrasonic wave generating source and echoes of second ultrasonic waves generated by said ultrasonic probe through said ultrasonic probe;

intensity distribution forming means for forming the intensity distribution image of said therapeutic ultrasonic waves in a subject on the basis of components in a specific band corresponding to said first fundamental frequency that are contained in a received echo signal from said receiving means; and

forming means for forming a tomographic image of the subject on the basis of components in a band having said second fundamental frequency that are contained in said received echo signal output from said receiving means.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said specific band includes at least a low-frequency band having said first fundamental frequency or a high-frequency band having a frequency that is an integral multiple of said first fundamental frequency.

9. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said intensity distribution forming means includes means for analyzing the spectrum of said received echo signal and determining said specific band on the basis of a frequency of the highest energy.

10. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said intensity distribution forming means has an equalizer for correcting the spectrum of said received echo signal.

11. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said intensity distribution forming means has means for removing frequency-shifted blood-flow components from said received echo signal.