Real-time monitoring and control of hifu therapy in multiple dimensions

A control device (115) for an ablation system that includes an ablation unit (110), the ablation unit including a multi-element diagnostic array (125) placed confocally with a therapy array (130) that issues a therapy beam for transferring energy for changing a mechanical property (304) of biological tissue, said therapy beam having a most recent focus (844), said control device comprising:

• a combination multi-channel high power amplifier and matching network module (135);
• a triggering and control logic module (140);
• and
• a multi-channel ultrasound data acquisition and analysis module (145),
• wherein the triggering and control logic module (140) outputs triggering and control signals to synchronize timing and electronic steering of three types of acoustic beams, including therapy beams, push beams, and tracking beams, that are interspersed,
• further wherein the combination multi-channel high power amplifier and matching network module (135) is responsive to triggering and control signals supplied by the triggering and control logic module (140) for applying driving signals to the therapy array (130) to issue an acoustic-radiation-force-based push beam whose focus for assessing an effect of said most recent focus of said therapy beam is, in at least one of an azimuthal and/or elevation direction, offset (830) from said most recent focus of said therapy beam, and
• wherein the multi-channel ultrasound data acquisition and analysis module (145) is responsive to triggering and control signals supplied by the triggering and control logic module (140) for electronically steering a tracking beam for displacement monitoring at a particular location that is offset (i) from said most recent focus of said therapy beam in at least one of an azimuthal and/or elevation direction, and (ii) to a target periphery (860) of a lesion being formed by said mechanical-property-changing therapy beam, the tracking being of displacement caused by a push to said biological tissue, in response to said acoustic-radiation-force-based push beam, to assess an effect of the energy transfer by said mechanical-property-changing therapy beam.