Noninvasive tissue displacement control and monitoring for neuromodulation
The subject matter of the present disclosure generally relates to techniques for neuromodulation that include applying energy (e.g., ultrasound energy) into an internal tissue to cause tissue displacement and identifying that the tissue displacement has occurred. In one embodiment, the presence of tissue displacement is associated with a desired therapeutic or physiological outcome, such as a change in a molecule of interest.
1 . A method of changing circulating glucose concentration, the method comprising:
repeatedly applying:
a reference imaging pulse to a region of interest via an ultrasound probe;
a therapy pulse to the region of interest via the ultrasound probe subsequent to delivering the reference imaging pulse;
a tracking pulse to the region of interest via the ultrasound probe subsequent to delivering the therapy pulse;
determining, in real-time, a phase change between the tracking pulse and the reference imaging pulse;
based on the phase change determined in real-time, determining a tissue displacement in real-time, wherein the tissue displacement corresponds to a change in circulating glucose concentration relative to a baseline; and
adjusting operation of the ultrasound probe based on the determined tissue displacement.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the adjustment comprises distributing the therapy pulse between multiple regions of interest.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the tissue displacement is caused by the therapy pulse.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the adjustment comprises consolidating a distributed dose to a single region of interest.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference imaging pulse and the tracking pulse are delivered by an imaging transducer and the therapy pulse is delivered by a therapy transducer.
6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the region of interest comprises the spleen.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the tissue displacement is determined based on an area under a curve of the identified determined phase change.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting operation of the ultrasound probe comprises adjusting one or more of driving voltage, pulse length, pulse duration, pulse repetition interval, or a combination thereof.
9 . A neuromodulation system for changing circulating glucose concentration, the neuromodulation system comprising:
an ultrasound probe configured to deliver energy to a region of interest in a subject; and
a controller configured to repeatedly apply:
a reference imaging pulse to a region of interest via the ultrasound probe;
a therapy pulse to the region of interest via the ultrasound probe subsequent to delivering the reference imaging pulse;
a tracking pulse to the region of interest via the ultrasound probe subsequent to delivering the therapy pulse;
determining, in real-time, a phase change between the tracking pulse and the reference imaging pulse;
based on the phase change determined in real-time, determining a tissue displacement in real-time, wherein the tissue displacement corresponds to a change in circulating glucose concentration relative to a baseline; and
adjusting operation of the ultrasound probe based on the determined tissue displacement.
10 . The neuromodulation system of claim 9 , wherein the ultrasound probe comprises an imaging transducer configured to acquire image data.
11 . The neuromodulation system of claim 9 , wherein the ultrasound probe comprises an ultrasound therapy transducer.
12 . The neuromodulation system of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to acquire a baseline image of the region of interest and determine the tissue displacement based on the baseline image and subsequent image data.
13 . The neuromodulation system of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to provide an indication related to the delivered energy based on the tissue displacement in real-time.
14 . The neuromodulation system of claim 9 , wherein the adjustment comprises consolidating a distributed dose to a single region of interest.
15 . A tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium, comprising instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, are configured to cause the processing circuitry to:
repeatedly apply:
a reference imaging pulse to a region of interest via an ultrasound probe;
a therapy pulse to the region of interest via the ultrasound probe subsequent to delivering the reference imaging pulse;
a tracking pulse to the region of interest via the ultrasound probe subsequent to delivering the therapy pulse;
determining, in real-time, a phase change between the tracking imaging pulse and the reference imaging pulse;
based on the phase change determined in real-time, determining a tissue displacement in real-time, wherein the tissue displacement corresponds to a change in circulating glucose concentration relative to a baseline; and
adjusting operation of the ultrasound probe based on the determined tissue displacement.
16 . The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the therapy pulse comprises a pulse average intensity of less than 200 W/cm 2 .
17 . The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the tissue displacement is determined based on an area under a curve of the determined phase change.
18 . The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein adjusting operation of the ultrasound probe comprises adjusting one or more of driving voltage, pulse length, pulse duration, pulse repetition interval, or a combination thereof.
19 . The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 15 , comprising instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, are configured to cause the processing circuitry to track the tissue displacement during the adjustment.