Reflectance-facilitated ultrasound treatment
OwnerLiat Tsoref, Yossi Grossinventors
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Abstract
Apparatus is provided that includes an ultrasound ablation system, which includes a reflection-facilitation element, configured to be placed at an extramyocardial site of a subject, and to provide an extramyocardial reflective region. The system further includes an ultrasound tool, which comprises at least one ultrasound transducer configured to be positioned within a heart chamber of the subject, and to ablate myocardial tissue by applying ultrasound energy to the myocardial tissue such that at least a portion of the transmitted energy is reflected by the reflective region onto the myocardial tissue. Other embodiments are also described.
Claims11
A method comprising:
- advancing, into a heart chamber of a subject, an ultrasound tool that includes at least one ultrasound transducer;
- providing a reflective region at an extramyocardial site of the subject;
- and
- activating the ultrasound transducer to ablate myocardial tissue by applying ultrasound energy to the myocardial tissue such that at least a portion of the transmitted energy is reflected by the reflective region onto the myocardial tissue of the subject,
- wherein the extramyocardial site is within a pericardial region of the subject that consists of one or more regions selected from the group consisting of:
- a region between a pericardium of a heart of the subject and a myocardium of the heart, a region between a visceral pericardium of the heart and a parietal pericardium of the heart, and a region outside the pericardium and in contact therewith, and wherein providing the reflective region comprises providing the reflective region within the pericardial region.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.