Apparatus for delivering high intensity focused ultrasound energy to a treatment site internal to a patient's body

Abstract

An apparatus for delivering HIFU energy may include a probe with a plurality of leaves that provide a bowl-shaped HIFU therapy transducer. In once case, pins may slide within grooves in the leaves to deploy the leaves. In another case, spines may be configured to slide in a channel defined in each leaf. In other cases, a spring or a shape memory alloy may be used to deploy the leaves. In another implementation, a probe may be fitted with a flexible material that couples the HIFU therapy transducer to the probe and allows the transducer to be drawn to the side of the probe for insertion. In another implementation, a probe may have one or more inflatable bladders that form the HIFU therapy transducer. In yet another implementation, a probe may have an imaging component and a HIFU therapy transducer disposed thereon that rotate, as a unit, about a hinge.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 758,797, titled TRANSVAGINAL IMAGE-GUIDED HIGH INTENSITY FOCUSED ULTRASOUND (HIFU) DEVICES AND METHODS FOR THERAPY TO THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM, filed Jan. 13, 2006.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present application is directed to apparatus that provide therapeutic treatment of internal pathological conditions using high-intensity focused ultrasound energy, and more particularly, to providing improved apparatus for insertion and deployment of a HIFU therapy transducer, with or without an imaging component.BACKGROUND[0003]Delivery of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) energy has emerged as a precise, non-surgical, minimally-invasive treatment for benign and malignant tumors. (See, e.g., S. Vaezy, M. Andrew, P. Kaczkowski et al., “Image-guided acoustic therapy,” Annu. Rev. Biomed. Eng. 3, 375-90 (2001)). At focal intensities 4-5 orders of magnitude greater...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014]The HIFU therapy transducer may also be coupled to the probe via a hinge, enabling the HIFU transducer to rotate about the hinge to help aim the HIFU energy toward the treatment site.

[0019]To facilitate insertion of the probe in a patient's body, the support structure is capable of rotating about the hinge to a position generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the probe. After insertion of the probe, the support structure is capable of rotating about the hinge to a position non-parallel to the longitudinal axis of the probe. The hinge thus provides an articulation that enables the imaging and therapy transducers as a unit to be positioned relative to the treatment site in the patient's body.

[0021]In the foregoing implementations, an imaging component included with the probe may be configured to use reflected ultrasound energy to produce an image of a portion of the patient's body. Alternatively, or in addition, the imaging component may be configured to use reflected light to produce an image of a portion of the patient's body. Still another alternative is that the imaging component consists of the same transducer as used to produce the HIFU energy. In some cases, the image produced by the imaging component may include a portion of the HIFU therapy transducer and / or the focal point of the HIFU energy within the tissue. The image obtained by the imaging component may assist in positioning the HIFU therapy transducer within the patient's body and in monitoring the delivery and effects of the HIFU therapy at the treatment site.

Problems solved by technology

A major challenge for transvaginal HIFU treatment of uterine pathologies is the deployment of a HIFU therapy transducer having an aperture of adequate size.

However, the size and configuration of the HIFU aperture are generally limited by the size and shape of the vaginal cavity and the location of the cervix and vaginal fornices.

Even more challenging is the issue of transvaginal insertion of a HIFU therapy transducer through the rather narrow vaginal introitus.

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