US 12,403,333 B2
Methods and systems for confirming focus of ultrasound beams
Bhaskar S. Ramamurthy, Los Altos, CA (US); Mallika Keralapura, San Jose, CA (US); and John Douglas Marshall, Los Gatos, CA (US)
Assigned to Cordance Medical Inc., Mountain View, CA (US)
Filed by Cordance Medical Inc., Mountain View, CA (US)
Filed on May 22, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/671,236.
Application 18/671,236 is a continuation of application No. 18/358,295, filed on Jul. 25, 2023, granted, now 12,017,093.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/393,388, filed on Jul. 29, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2024/0307709 A1, Sep. 19, 2024
Int. Cl. A61N 7/00 (2006.01)
CPC A61N 7/00 (2013.01) [A61N 2007/0026 (2013.01); A61N 2007/0039 (2013.01); A61N 2007/0052 (2013.01); A61N 2007/0078 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for confirming a treatment focus location of an ultrasound therapy system, the ultrasound therapy system comprising a plurality of transmit transducers for transmitting ultrasound energy into the brain of a patient and a plurality of receive transducers for receiving reflected ultrasound energy from the brain of the patient, the method comprising:
obtaining a proposed ultrasound treatment parameterized by, for each of the plurality of transmit transducers, treatment values for a corresponding plurality of transmission parameters, the proposed ultrasound treatment comprising a desired treatment focus location;
transmitting pre-treatment ultrasound energy into the brain of the patient, wherein transmitting the pre-treatment ultrasound energy comprises causing each of the plurality of transmit transducers to transmit ultrasound energy according to pre-treatment values for the corresponding plurality of transmission parameters, wherein:
the pre-treatment values for a first one or more of the corresponding plurality of transmission parameters are different than the treatment values for the first one or more of the corresponding plurality of transmission parameters,
the pre-treatment values for a second one or more of the corresponding plurality of transmission parameters are the same as the treatment values for the second one or more of the corresponding plurality of transmission parameters, and
the pre-treatment values cause the plurality of transmit transducers to transmit the pre-treatment ultrasound energy into the brain in a manner wherein the pre-treatment ultrasound energy exhibits an actual treatment focus location considered to correspond with the desired treatment focus location;
receiving return pre-treatment signals at the plurality of receive transducers;
determining the actual treatment focus location based at least in part on the received return pre-treatment signals;
confirming that the actual treatment focus location is within a threshold similarity metric of the desired treatment focus location; and
delivering ultrasound according to the proposed ultrasound treatment to open a blood brain barrier of the patient.