Back to results
US 4,893,624 AGranted
Diffuse focus ultrasound hyperthermia system
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorPadmakar P. Lele
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for delivering ultrasound hyperthermic therapy to a subject includes a plurality of piezoelectric ultrasound transducer elements arranged in a two-dimensional array to provide multiple sources of ultrasonic energy, and variable activation elements for activating the transducer elements individually and at variable electrical energy levels. A plurality of lens elements is provided for transmitting the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to the subject, in conjunction with focusing elements which individually vary the attitude of the lens elements to change the focal regions of the individual lenses. The transducer elements and lens elements can be corresponding "pie-slice" sectors arranged in a circular array, in combination with a central circular transducer and lens.
Claims28
An ultrasonic hyperthermia system for delivering hyperthermic therapy to a subject, the system comprising:
- a plurality of piezoelectric transducer elements arranged in a two-dimensional array to provide multiple sources of ultrasonic energy;
- variable activation means for activating the transducer elements individually and at variable electrical energy levels to permit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to vary in intensity;
- a further plurality of lens elements, coupled to the plurality of transducer elements, to transmit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to the subject as a diffuse-focus beam having a selected dimension in a direction substantially perpendicular to a direction of propagation;
- and
- focusing means for dynamically varying the position of the lens elements individually to permit variations in the focal regions of the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy, said variations in focal regions including variations in the selected dimension of the diffuse-focus beam.
2 more elements
An ultrasonic hyperthermia system for delivering hyperthermic therapy to a subject, the system comprising:
- a plurality of piezoelectric transducer elements arranged in a two-dimensional array to provide multiple sources of ultrasonic energy;
- variable activation means for activating the transducer elements individually and at variable electrical energy levels to permit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to vary in intensity;
- a further plurality of lens elements, coupled to the plurality of transducer elements, to transmit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to the subject;
- and
- focusing means for varying the position of the lens elements individually to permit variations in the focal regions of the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy, the focusing means including tilting means for tilting the individual lens elements to change their focal regions, the tilting means including (i) means for tilting the individual lens elements to change the focal depth of the individual lens elements, and (ii) means for introducing a substantially randomized perturbation in the tilt of the individual lens elements.
2 more elements
An ultrasonic hyperthermia system for delivering hyperthermic therapy to a subject, the system comprising:
- a plurality of piezoelectric transducer elements arranged in a two-dimensional array to provide multiple sources of ultrasonic energy;
- variable activation means for activating the transducer elements individually and at variable electrical energy levels to permit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to vary in intensity;
- a further plurality of lens elements to transmit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to the subject;
- and
- focusing means for varying the position of the lens elements individually to permit variations in the focal regions of the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy, the focusing means including wedge focusing means for selectively positioning a wedge of ultrasound transmitting medium between an individual lens element and a corresponding transducer element.
2 more elements
An ultrasonic hyperthermia system for delivering hyperthermic therapy to a subject, the system comprising:
- a plurality of ultrasonic energy generating modules, each module including
- (i) a plurality of piezoelectric transducer elements arranged in a two-dimensional array to provide multiple sources of ultrasonic energy;
- (ii) variable activation means for activating the transducer elements individually and at variable electrical energy levels to permit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to vary in intensity;
- (iii) a further plurality of lens elements, coupled to the plurality of transducer elements, to transmit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to the subject;
- and
- (iv) focusing means for varying the position of the lens elements individually to permit variations in the focal regions of the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy.
3 more elements
An ultrasonic hyperthermia system for delivering hyperthermic therapy to a subject, the system comprising:
- a plurality of piezoelectric transducer elements arranged in a two-dimensional array to provide multiple sources of ultrasonic energy;
- variable activation means for activating the transducer elements individually and at variable electrical energy levels to permit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to vary in intensity;
- a further plurality of lens elements to transmit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to the subject;
- focusing means for varying the position of the lens elements individually to permit variations in the focal regions of the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy;
- rotating means, supportingly connected to the array of transducer elements, for rotating the array of transducer elements through a selected orbital path;
- and
- amplitude shading means, responsive to the instantaneous angular position of the array of transducer elements, for selectively varying the amplitude of ultrasonic energy generated by individual transducer elements.
4 more elements
A method for delivering hyperthermic therapy to a subject, the method comprising the steps of:
- arranging a plurality of piezoelectric transducer elements in a two-dimensional array to provide multiple sources of ultrasonic energy;
- activating the transducer elements individually and at variable electrical energy levels to permit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to vary in intensity;
- positioning a further plurality of lens elements to transmit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to the subject as a diffuse-focus beam having a selected dimension in a direction substantially perpendicular to a direction of propagation;
- and
- varying the position of the lens elements individually to permit variations in the focal regions of the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy, said variations in focal regions including variations in the selected dimension of the diffuse-focus beam.
2 more elements
A method for delivering hyperthermic therapy to a subject, the method comprising the steps of:
- arranging a plurality of piezoelectric transducer elements in a two-dimensional array to provide multiple sources of ultrasonic energy;
- activating the transducer elements individually and at variable electrical energy levels to permit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to vary in intensity;
- positioning a further plurality of lens elements to transmit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to the subject;
- and
- varying the position of the lens elements individually to permit variations in the focal regions of the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy, wherein the step of varying the position of the lens elements including the step of tilting the individual lens elements to change their focal regions, and the step of tilting the individual lens elements includes the step of introducing a substantially randomized perturbation in the tilt of the individual lens elements.
2 more elements
A method for delivering hyperthermic therapy to a subject, the method comprising the steps of:
- arranging a plurality of piezoelectric transducer elements in a two-dimensional array to provide multiple sources of ultrasonic energy;
- activating the transducer elements individually and at variable electrical energy levels to permit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to vary in intensity;
- positioning a further plurality of lens elements to transmit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to the subject;
- and
- varying the position of the lens elements individually to permit variations in the focal regions of the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy, wherein the step of varying the position of the lens elements includes the step of selectively positioning a wedge of ultrasound transmitting medium between an individual lens element and a corresponding transducer element.
2 more elements
An ultrasonic hyperthermia method for delivering hyperthermic therapy to a subject, the method comprising the steps of:
- arranging a plurality of piezoelectric transducer elements in a plurality of two-dimensional arrays to provide multiple sources of ultrasonic energy;
- activating the transducer elements individually and at variable electrical energy levels to permit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to vary in intensity;
- configuring a further plurality of lens elements to transmit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to the subject;
- varying the position of the lens elements individually to permit variations in the focal regions of the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy;
- and
- configuring the plurality of arrays as a plurality of ultrasonic energy generating modules.
3 more elements
A method for delivering hyperthermic therapy to a subject, the method comprising the steps of:
- arranging a plurality of piezoelectric transducer elements in a two-dimensional array to provide multiple sources of ultrasonic energy;
- activating the transducer elements individually and at variable electrical energy levels to permit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to vary in intensity;
- positioning a further plurality of lens elements to transmit the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy to the subject;
- varying the position of the lens elements individually to permit variations in the focal regions of the multiple sources of ultrasonic energy;
- rotating the array of transducer elements through a selected orbital path;
- responding to the instantaneous angular position of the array of transducer elements;
- and
- selectively varying the amplitude of ultrasonic energy generated by individual transducer elements, responsive to the instantaneous angular position of the array of transducer elements.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.