Ultrasound focus positioning device
OwnerPatrick Grossinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A positioning device has a computer and an ultrasound device that is provided to expose biological tissue with high-intensity, focused ultrasound radiation, and an ultrasound transducer unit, a mechanical focusing unit and an electronic focusing unit for positioning and/or focusing of the high-intensity, focused ultrasound radiation of the ultrasound transducer unit. The computer is designed to adjust the focus position of the ultrasound transducer unit along at least one dimension by operating the mechanical focusing unit; and the computer is designed to regulate the focus position of the ultrasound transducer unit along the at least one dimension by operating the electronic focusing unit after the positioning by the mechanical focusing unit.
Claims11
A positioning device for positioning an ultrasound focus, comprising:
- an ultrasound device that emits high-intensity, focused ultrasound from a focus in the ultrasound device;
- a mechanical focusing unit that mechanically interacts with said focus;
- an electronic focusing unit that interacts with said focus;
- and
- a computer connected to said mechanical focusing unit and to said electronic focusing unit, said computer being configured to operate said mechanical focusing unit to initially mechanically adjust a position of said focus along at least one dimension and to subsequently operate said electronic focusing unit to regulate the position of said focus along said at least one dimension after adjusting the position of the focus with said mechanical focusing unit.
A method for positioning a focus of a high-intensity focused ultrasound radiation emitter, comprising the steps of:
- determining a desired value along at least one dimension of a focus in said ultrasound emitter from which said high-intensity, focused ultrasound radiation is emitted;
- from a computer, operating a mechanical focusing unit to mechanically adjust a position of said focus along said at least one dimension to set said focus to a set focus position;
- detecting said set focus position;
- supplying said desired value and the detected set focus position to said computer and, in said computer, comparing said desired value and the detected set focus position to identify a difference there between;
- and
- from said computer, operating an electronic focusing unit to electronically further adjust the position of said focus along said at least one dimension dependent on said difference.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.