Tissue aberration corrections in ultrasound therapy
First Claim
1. A system for delivering acoustic energy through intervening tissue into a target site within a tissue region, comprising:
- a transducer array comprising a plurality of transducer elements configured for transmitting acoustic energy along respective pass zones through the intervening tissue towards the target site;
an imager for imaging the tissue region, the imager generating image data indicating tissue types of the intervening tissue;
a processor coupled to the imager for receiving the image data, the processor configured to determine boundaries between a plurality of tissue types within the intervening tissue and generate correction factors for the transducer elements to compensate for refraction occurring as the acoustic energy passes through the tissue types within the intervening tissue and for variations in speed of sound of the acoustic energy as it passes through the plurality of tissue types within the respective pass zones; and
a controller coupled to the processor and the transducer array, the controller configured for receiving the correction factors from the processor and providing excitation signals to the transducer elements based upon the respective correction factors to focus the acoustic energy transmitted by the transducer elements at the target site.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for focusing ultrasonic energy through intervening tissue into a target site within a tissue region includes a transducer array including transducer element, an imager for imaging the tissue region, a processor receiving images from the imager to determine boundaries between different tissue types within the intervening tissue and generate correction factors for the transducer elements to compensate for refraction occurring at the boundaries between the tissue types and/or for variations in speed of sound. A controller is coupled to the processor and the transducer array to receive the correction factors and provide excitation signals to the transducer elements based upon the correction factors. The correction factors may include phase and/or amplitude correction factors, and the phases and/or amplitudes of excitation signals provided to the transducer elements may be adjusted based upon the phase correction factors to focus the ultrasonic energy to treat tissue at the target site.
268 Citations
26 Claims
-
1. A system for delivering acoustic energy through intervening tissue into a target site within a tissue region, comprising:
-
a transducer array comprising a plurality of transducer elements configured for transmitting acoustic energy along respective pass zones through the intervening tissue towards the target site; an imager for imaging the tissue region, the imager generating image data indicating tissue types of the intervening tissue; a processor coupled to the imager for receiving the image data, the processor configured to determine boundaries between a plurality of tissue types within the intervening tissue and generate correction factors for the transducer elements to compensate for refraction occurring as the acoustic energy passes through the tissue types within the intervening tissue and for variations in speed of sound of the acoustic energy as it passes through the plurality of tissue types within the respective pass zones; and a controller coupled to the processor and the transducer array, the controller configured for receiving the correction factors from the processor and providing excitation signals to the transducer elements based upon the respective correction factors to focus the acoustic energy transmitted by the transducer elements at the target site. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A method for focusing acoustic energy transmitted from a plurality of transducer elements of a transducer array through intervening tissue at a target site within a tissue region, the method comprising:
-
acquiring one or more images of a portion of the tissue region that includes the intervening tissue and the target site; determining boundaries between a plurality of tissue types within the intervening tissue from the one or more images; generating respective excitation correction factors for each transducer element of the transducer array to compensate for refraction occurring as the acoustic energy passes through the tissue types within the intervening tissue and to compensate for variations in speed of sound of the acoustic energy as it passes through the plurality of tissue types within pass zones extending from respective transducer elements through the intervening tissue to the target site; and administering acoustic energy from the transducers to the target site in response to the excitation factors. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A method for focusing acoustic energy to ablate a target site within a tissue region using a transducer array comprising a plurality of transducer elements, the method comprising:
-
acquiring one or more images of a portion of the tissue region that includes the target site and intervening tissue between the transducer array and the target site; determining boundaries between a plurality of tissue types within the intervening tissue based upon the one or more images; generating respective correction factors for each transducer element of the transducer array to compensate for refraction occurring as the acoustic energy passes through the tissue types within pass zones extending from respective transducer elements through the intervening tissue to the target site and for variations in speed of sound of the acoustic energy as it passes through the plurality of tissue types within the pass zones; and driving the transducer elements with excitation signals based upon the correction factors to focus acoustic energy from the transducer elements at the target site for sufficient time to ablate tissue at the target site. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
-
-
26. Software to operate an ultrasound therapy system including a transducer array including a plurality of transducer elements, the software residing on a computer readable medium and comprising instructions to cause the system to:
-
acquire one or more images of a tissue region comprising a target site and intervening tissue between the transducer array and the target site; determine boundaries between a plurality of tissue types within the intervening tissue based upon the one or more images; and generate excitation correction factors for the transducer elements to compensate for variations in speed of sound of the acoustic energy as it passes through the plurality of tissue types within pass zones extending from respective transducer elements through the intervening tissue to the target site and to compensate for refraction occurring as the acoustic energy passes through the boundaries between the tissue types within the pass zones.
-
Specification