Focused ultrasound system with far field tail suppression
First Claim
1. A method for treating body tissue using acoustic energy, comprising:
- identifying a target focal zone to be treated;
delivering a first pulse of acoustic energy from a transducer to generate bubbles in bodily liquid contained in the tissue in a tissue region located distally, relative to the transducer, of a focal center of the target focal zone; and
before the distally located bubbles dissipate, delivering a second pulse of acoustic energy from the transducer to generate thermal ablation energy in tissue at or proximate the focal center of the target focal zone,wherein the first pulse is focused at a selected distance from the focal center of the target focal zone to cause the distally located bubbles to suppress formation of a far-field thermal-ablation tail; and
further wherein the bubbles are generated in the body liquid without using an injected fluid.
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Abstract
A method for treating body tissue using acoustic energy includes identifying a target focal zone of tissue to be treated, delivering a first pulse of acoustic energy from a transducer to generate bubbles in a tissue region located distally, relative to the transducer, of a focal center of the target focal zone, and delivering a second pulse of acoustic energy from the transducer in the presence of the bubbles generated by the first pulse, the second pulse focused at the focal center to generate thermal ablation energy. In a further embodiment, a method of treating body tissue using ultrasound energy includes identifying a target focal zone to be treated and delivering a plurality of pulses of acoustic ablation energy to locations distributed symmetrically in or proximate a focal plane about the focal center of the target focal zone.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for treating body tissue using acoustic energy, comprising:
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identifying a target focal zone to be treated; delivering a first pulse of acoustic energy from a transducer to generate bubbles in bodily liquid contained in the tissue in a tissue region located distally, relative to the transducer, of a focal center of the target focal zone; and before the distally located bubbles dissipate, delivering a second pulse of acoustic energy from the transducer to generate thermal ablation energy in tissue at or proximate the focal center of the target focal zone, wherein the first pulse is focused at a selected distance from the focal center of the target focal zone to cause the distally located bubbles to suppress formation of a far-field thermal-ablation tail; and
further wherein the bubbles are generated in the body liquid without using an injected fluid. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A focused ultrasound system for treating tissue using acoustic energy, comprising:
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a transducer configured for delivering acoustic energy to internal body tissue; and a controller for controlling delivery of acoustic energy by the transducer, the controller configured to identify a target focal zone having a focal center; cause delivery of a first pulse of acoustic energy from the transducer to generate bubbles in bodily liquid contained in tissue located in a tissue region located distally of the focal center relative to the transducer; and before the distally located bubbles dissipate, cause delivery of a second pulse of acoustic energy from the transducer to generate thermal ablation energy in tissue at or proximate the focal center of the target focal zone, wherein the first pulse is focused at a selected distance from the focal center of the target focal zone to cause the distally located bubbles to suppress formation of a far-field thermal-ablation tail; and
further wherein the controller is configured to generate bubbles in the body liquid without using an injected fluid. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of treating body tissue using acoustic energy, comprising:
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identifying a plurality of focal zones to be treated with acoustic energy delivered by a transducer; and for each focal zone, delivering a bubble-formation pulse of acoustic energy from the transducer to generate bubbles in bodily liquid contained in the tissue in a tissue region located distally of a focal center of the respective focal zone and, before the bubbles have dissipated, delivering an ablation pulse of acoustic energy focused at the focal center of the respective focal zone and not in the distally located tissue region to generate thermal ablation energy therein, wherein the bubble formation pulse is focused at a selected distance from the focal center of the respective focal zone to cause the distally located bubbles to suppress formation of a far-field thermal-ablation tail; and
further wherein the bubbles are generated in the body liquid without using an injected fluid. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A method of treating tissue using acoustic energy, comprising:
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identifying a target focal zone in a tissue region to be treated, the target focal zone having a focal plane and a focal center lying in the focal plane; delivering a first pulse of acoustic energy from a transducer to generate bubbles in body liquid contained in a region located distally, relative to the transducer, of the focal center of the target focal zone; before the distally located bubbles dissipate, delivering a plurality of ablation pulses of acoustic energy to locations lying in or proximate the focal plane and distributed in a substantially symmetrical pattern about the focal center;
wherein the first pulse is delivered prior to each ablation pulse and is focused at a selected distance from the focal center of the target focal zone to cause the distally located bubbles to suppress the formation of a far-field thermal ablation tail; and
further wherein the bubbles are generated in the body liquid without using an injected fluid. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification