Systems and methods for ultrasound treatment

• US 9,149,658 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2011
• Issued: 10/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Guided Therapy Systems Llc
• Original Assignee: Guided Therapy Systems Llc
• Inventors: Barthe, Peter G., Slayton, Michael H.
• Primary Examiner(s): REMALY, MARK DONALD
• Application Number:
  US13/136,544
• Publication Number:
  US 20120029353A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,526 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/320069 for ablating tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00642 with feedback, i.e. closed loop control
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00898 Alarms or notifications created in response to an abnormal condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/378 using ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/13 Tomography A61B8/10, A61B8/12 take precedence; tomography for radiation diagnosis A61B6/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/14 Echo-tomography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4254 using sensors mounted on the probe
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4272 involving the acoustic interface between the transducer and the tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/485 involving measuring strain or elastic properties
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5246 combining images from the same or different imaging techniques, e.g. color Doppler and B-mode
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2007/0013 Fracture healing
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2007/0034 Skin treatment
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2007/0052 using the same transducer for therapy and imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2007/006 Lenses
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2007/0065 Concave transducers
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2007/0091 with moving parts, e.g. transducers, lenses, reflectors
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2007/0095 by modifying an excitation signal
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2007/027 with multiple foci created simultaneously
• 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

Abstract

Various embodiments provide a method for an extended field of view treatment. The method can include the steps of imaging a region; targeting a region with directed ultrasound energy; monitoring the region; moving the imaging, treatment, and monitoring region while spatially correlating to one or more prior regions via imaging and/or position sensing; continuing the extended field of view treatment; and, achieving an ultrasound induced biological effect in the extended field of view treatment region.

Claims

1. A system for ultrasound treatment, the system comprising:

a hand-held probe comprising;

a housing containing or coupled to;

a) a therapy ultrasound transducer configured to deliver directed therapeutic ultrasound energy into a treatment region;

b) an imaging ultrasound transducer configured to create ultrasound images of the treatment region and surrounding tissue;

c) a position sensor configured to communicate a position of the housing versus time; and

d) a communication interface in communication with the therapy ultrasound transducer, the imaging ultrasound transducer and the position sensor, and configured for wired or wireless communication; and

a controller in communication with the communication interface, and configured to form and correlate the images, to process position data, and to create an extended field of view of the treatment region, and further configured to control, using the position of the housing versus time, the delivery of directed therapeutic ultrasound energy to the extended field of view of the treatment region, thereby initiating at least one ultrasound induced biological effect.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the housing further contains a rechargeable battery configured to power at least one ultrasound transducer.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the hand held probe further comprises an input/output switch, and a display, both in communication with the communication interface.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the position sensor is an optical position sensor.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the therapy ultrasound transducer comprises array of one or more elements configured to deliver focused, multi-focused, un-focused, or defocused ultrasound energy.

6. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a display configured to display the extended field of view image of the treatment region, or a map of the extended field of view monitoring image.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the probe further comprises a tissue contact sensor in communication with the communication interface and configured to determine whether at least one of the ultrasound transducers is coupled to the treatment region.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the tissue contact sensor is configured to measure a capacity of a skin surface above the treatment region, and to communicate a difference between the capacity of the contact to the skin surface and the capacity of air.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein the tissue contact sensor is configured to be initiated by pressing the hand-held probe against a skin surface above the treatment region.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to analyze the extended image and the position data, then to determine a distance between pulses of the therapeutic ultrasound energy into the treatment region.

11. The system according to claim 10, the controller is configured to control the pulses of the therapeutic ultrasound energy into a treatment region to create a plurality of evenly spaced lesions in the treatment region.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to wireless communication with the hand-held probe, and comprises a user interface and a display configured to display imaging data.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to trigger the delivery of directed therapeutic ultrasound energy to the extended field of view of the treatment region when the ultrasound probe reaches a pre-determined distance away from a previous treatment region.

14. The system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to control, using a speed of motion of the ultrasound probe, the delivery of directed therapeutic ultrasound energy to the extended field of view of the treatment region.

15. The system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to suppress the delivery of directed therapeutic ultrasound energy to the extended field of view of the treatment region when the position of the housing crosses over a position of the housing during a previous delivery of directed therapeutic ultrasound energy to the extended field of view of the treatment region.