System and Method for Control and Monitoring of Conformal Thermal Therapy

A system for treating a prostate, comprising:

• an ultrasonic thermal therapy applicator in the form of an elongated cylindrical applicator sized and shaped for insertion into a male patient's urethra so as to be able to reach at least partially into a prostate of said patient;
• a controllable motor and mechanical driver assembly coupled to said applicator so as to cause the elongated cylindrical applicator to rotate about an axis thereof within the patient's urethra;
• a plurality of transducer elements in said applicator, each being controllably driven by an electrical driving signal and having an active surface and capable of generating an acoustic radiation field emanating radially outwardly from its active surface into said prostate;
• a thermometry module receiving data from an imaging system and executing instructions in a processor to determine a current temperature distribution map within said prostate;
• a temperature prediction module receiving said current temperature distribution map as data, and using programmed thermal response model instructions, generating data representative of a future temperature distribution within said prostate;
• and
• a controller receiving at least said future temperature distribution, comparing said future temperature distribution to an indicated reference temperature at least in some region within said prostate, and modifying the controllable electrical driving signals to said plurality of transducer elements in said applicator.

A method for conformal thermal therapy of a diseased organ using a thermal therapy device, comprising:

• calculating a plurality of parameters in a treatment plan, including a target boundary, corresponding to conditions of a diseased organ and corresponding to therapeutic operating conditions of the therapy device;
• delivering thermal therapy to a diseased region of said diseased organ by application of a prescribed power to at least one of a plurality of ultrasound transducer elements of said therapy device;
• monitoring a temperature of said diseased organ using an imaging modality capable of mapping acquired images to corresponding present temperature maps within said diseased organ;
• executing, in a processor, programmed steps representing a thermal model, taking as input at least said present temperature maps and outputting at least a future temperature distribution predicted by said thermal model;
• generating control signals, at least in part based on said future temperature distribution predicted by said thermal model;
• and
• controlling operation of said therapy device at least in part based on said generated control signals.