US 12,186,593 B2
Pattern interference radiation force (PIRF) neural stimulators
Michael D. Menz, San Bruno, CA (US); Butrus T. Khuri-Yakub, Palo Alto, CA (US); Stephen A. Baccus, Half Moon Bay, CA (US); Patrick Ye, Palo Alto, CA (US); Kim Pauly, Stanford, CA (US); Kamyar Firouzi, San Jose, CA (US); Morten F. Rasmussen, San Francisco, CA (US); Omer Oralkan, Morrisville, NC (US); and Amin Nikoozadeh, San Carlos, CA (US)
Assigned to The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, Stanford, CA (US)
Filed by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, Stanford, CA (US)
Filed on Jun. 5, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/894,421.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/858,884, filed on Jun. 7, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2020/0384292 A1, Dec. 10, 2020
Int. Cl. A61N 7/00 (2006.01); A61M 21/00 (2006.01)
CPC A61N 7/00 (2013.01) [A61M 21/00 (2013.01); A61M 2021/0011 (2013.01); A61N 2007/0026 (2013.01); A61N 2007/0078 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. Apparatus for modifying neural activity, the apparatus comprising:
two or more acoustic transducers configured to have their acoustic outputs overlap in a region of a patient under treatment;
a controller configured to control operation of the acoustic transducers;
wherein the controller is configured to allow a user of the apparatus to select from at least a first operating mode and a second operating mode;
wherein the first operating mode is a standing wave mode, and wherein the acoustic outputs of the standing wave mode are at the same frequency;
wherein the second operating mode is an oscillating mode where the acoustic outputs have pairwise frequency differences in a range from 1 kHz to 100 kHz,
wherein the controller is configured to drive the two or more acoustic transducers independently of each other, whereby electronic control of an acoustic interference pattern generated by the two or more acoustic transducers is provided in the region of the patient;
wherein the two or more acoustic transducers include two diametrically opposed acoustic transducers.