Treatment of unwanted tissue by the selective destruction of vasculature providing nutrients to the tissue

A method for using high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) to provide therapy to damage undesired tissue by selectively targeting a treatment site corresponding to a portion of a vascular system of a patient associated with supplying nutrients to the undesired tissue, the treatment site being spaced apart from a HIFU therapy device that provides the therapy, comprising the steps of:

• (a) determining an appropriate treatment site associated with the vascular system of the patient to be treated to reduce an amount of blood flow that supplies nutrients to the undesired tissue;
• (b) positioning the HIFU therapy device such that a focal point of the HIFU therapy device is directed at the treatment site;
• (c) verifying that the focal point of the HIFU therapy device is properly positioned relative to the treatment site, and if not, repositioning the HIFU therapy device until the HIFU therapy device is properly positioned relative to the treatment site;
• and
• (d) energizing the HIFU therapy device to damage the vascular system at the treatment site to reduce the amount of blood flow to the undesired tissue.

A method for using ultrasound to simultaneously image a target area and to provide therapy to a treatment site disposed within said target area, the treatment site corresponding to a portion of a vascular system, where the therapy reduces an amount of blood flow into a mass of undesired tissue, comprising the steps of:

• (a) positioning an imaging ultrasound transducer so as to enable an image of the target area to be obtained;
• (b) positioning a therapeutic ultrasound transducer so that a focal point corresponding to the therapeutic ultrasound transducer generally coincides with a portion of the target area;
• (c) energizing the imaging ultrasound transducer to generate an ultrasound image of the target area;
• (d) selecting the treatment site from within the ultrasound image;
• (e) energizing the therapeutic ultrasound transducer to produce pulses of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapeutic waves to damage tissue at the treatment site, reducing the amount of blood flow into the mass of undesired tissue;
• and
• (f) synchronizing the HIFU therapeutic waves relative to imaging waves produced by the imaging ultrasound transducer, such that noise in the ultrasound image from the HIFU therapeutic waves does not prevent a visualization of a portion of the target area coinciding with the focal point of the therapeutic ultrasound transducer.