Ultrasonic medical treating device

• US 6,511,428 B1
• Filed: 04/26/2001
• Issued: 01/28/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Medical Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Medical Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sasaki, Kazuaki, Azuma, Takashi, Kawabata, Kenichi, Kubota, Jun, Kuroda, Katsuhiro, Umemura, Shinichiro, Miwa, Yuichi, Shinomura, Ryuichi, Ishida, Kazunari
• Primary Examiner(s): Walberg, Teresa
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fuqua, Shawntina T.
• Application Number:
  US09/830,423
• Time in Patent Office: 642 Days
• Field of Search: 600/439, 604/22, 606/27, 601/2-3
• US Class Current: 600/439
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00154 pulsed
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00274 Prostate operation, e.g. prostatectomy, turp, bhp treatment
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00547 Prostate
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/378 using ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/3782 transmitter or receiver in catheter or minimal invasive instrument
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/12 in body cavities or body tracts, e.g. by using catheters catheters per se A61M25/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 7/022 intracavitary

Abstract

An ultrasound therapy apparatus delivers focused ultrasound for therapeutical purposes which can be correctly targeted to a target region, and also, a positional shift from the target region under irradiation of ultrasound can be effectively avoided. An ultrasound transducer is inside an applicator with an imaging ultrasonic probe. Another ultrasound transducer monitors a position of a target and a positional shift is inside a catheter which is inserted into a urethral tube. An imaging system drives the ultrasound probe to display an ultrasound tomographic image of a region in the vicinity of a target region. The ultrasound transducer is driven in a pulse-shaped mode at the same frequency as the imaging ultrasound and also at such timing when the imaging ultrasound is reached. As a result, a point-shaped sound source image is superimposed and displayed on an ultrasound tomographic image.

Claims

1. An ultrasound therapy apparatus comprising:

a first ultrasound transducer for generating focused ultrasound used in therapeutical purposes;

an ultrasound probe arranged in such a manner that said ultrasound probe is moved in combination with said first ultrasound transducer;

an intraluminal catheter used to be inserted into a region in the vicinity of an irradiation target region of said focused ultrasound; and

imaging means for forming an ultrasound tomographic image in such a manner that while imaging ultrasound is repeatedly transmitted from said ultrasound probe, reflection wave responses are acquired by sequentially scanning reception signals of reflection signals thereof along a lateral direction;

wherein;

said intraluminal catheter is comprised of;

a second ultrasound transducer; and

drive means for driving said second ultrasound transducer to generate ultrasound during an imaging operation by said ultrasound imaging means; and

also

said imaging means superimposes a sound source image which is caused by the ultrasound produced by said second ultrasound transducer on said ultrasound tomographic image.

2. An ultrasound therapy apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said drive means drives said second ultrasound transducer in a pulse-shape mode, so that said imaging means superimposes a point-shaped sound source image which is caused by pulse-shaped ultrasound generated from said second ultrasound transducer on said ultrasound tomographic image.

3. An ultrasound therapy apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein:

said drive means is comprised of;

setting means for setting that drive timing of said second ultrasound transducer is adjustable with respect to the repetitive ultrasound transmission by said imaging means.

4. An ultrasound therapy apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein:

said drive means drives said second ultrasound transducer immediately after said drive means detects that said imaging ultrasound is reached to said second ultrasound transducer.

5. An ultrasound therapy apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein:

said ultrasound therapy apparatus is further comprised of;

marking means for electrically marking a position of said point-shaped sound source image which is superimposed on said ultrasound tomographic image; and

said ultrasound imaging means displays said point-shaped sound source image on the position of said second ultrasound transducer, which can be compared with the position of the point-shaped sound source image marked by said marking means, while the focused ultrasound for therapeutical purposes is irradiated.

6. An ultrasound therapy apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein:

said ultrasound therapy apparatus is further comprised of;

means for stopping the irradiation of said focused ultrasound for therapeutical purposes when an appearing position of said point-shaped sound source image is shifted from the position marked by said marking means, while the focused ultrasound for therapeutical purposes is irradiated.

9. An ultrasound therapy apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

while said first ultrasound transducer is positioned, said drive means drives said second ultrasound transducer at the same frequency as that of said imaging ultrasound; and

during a medical treatment term after a positioning of said first ultrasound transducer, said drive means drives said second ultrasound transducer at the same time when the focused ultrasound for therapeutical purposes is irradiated from said first ultrasound transducer at the same frequency as that of said therapeutical ultrasound, or at a frequency “

2n higher than, or “

1/2n”

times lower than, or equal to said frequency of the therapeutical ultrasound, symbol “

n”

being an integer more than, or equal to 1.

7. An ultrasound therapy apparatus comprising:

a first ultrasound generating source for irradiating focused ultrasound used in therapeutical purposes to a patient;

an ultrasound probe arranged in such a manner that said ultrasound probe is moved in combination with said first ultrasound generating source;

ultrasound imaging means for imaging an ultrasound tomographic image used in a positioning operation with employment of said ultrasound probe; and

an intraluminal catheter equipped with a second ultrasound generating source, which is used to be inserted into a region in the vicinity of an irradiation target region of said focused ultrasound;

wherein;

under such a mutual positional condition that said second ultrasound generating source is fixed in the vicinity of said irradiation target region and also a geometrical focal point of said first ultrasound generating source is made coincident with said irradiation target portion, said second ultrasound generating source is driven at the same time when said first ultrasound generating source is driven at the same frequencies, or at a frequency “

2n”

times higher than, or “

1/2n”

times lower than, or equal to the frequency of said first ultrasound generating source, whereby said second ultrasound generating source generates ultrasound which is returned from said first ultrasound generating source to a direction along which said focused ultrasound for therapeutical purposes is entered.

8. An ultrasound therapy apparatus comprising:

a first ultrasound transducer for generating focused ultrasound used in therapeutical purposes;

an ultrasound probe arranged in such a manner that said ultrasound probe is moved in combination with said first ultrasound transducer;

an intraluminal catheter used to be inserted into a region in the vicinity of an irradiation target region of said focused ultrasound; and

imaging means for forming an ultrasound tomographic image in such a manner that while imaging ultrasound is repeatedly transmitted from said ultrasound probe, reflection wave responses are acquired by sequentially scanning reception signals of reflection signals thereof along a lateral direction;

wherein;

said intraluminal catheter is comprised of;

a second ultrasound transducer for detecting acoustic intensity which is caused by said focused ultrasound.