High intensity focused ultrasound method and associated apparatus

1 . A medical treatment method comprising:

positioning a high intensity focused ultrasound transducer in juxtaposition to the patient;

energizing said transducer to focus ultrasonic pressure waves at a focal point within a target tissue region;

operating a computer to calculate a path of movement of said transducer;

further operating said computer to move said high intensity focused ultrasound transducer along said path; and

energizing said transducer during motion thereof along said path to destroy contiguous portions of said target tissue region.

2 . The method defined in claim 1 , further comprising inputting, into said computer, information identifying the location of the target tissue region inside a patient, said computer utilizing said information to calculate said path.

3 . The method defined in claim 2 , further comprising:

conducting a scan of internal tissues of a patient; and

at least in part from the results of said scan, determining that said target tissue region should be destroyed.

4 . The method defined in claim 3 wherein the conducting of said scan includes operating said computer to transmit ultrasonic scanning waves into the patient, to analyze returning ultrasonic waves, and to project an image on a display.

5 . The method defined in claim 4 wherein the inputting of the information identifying the location of said target tissue region includes encircling an image of said target tissue region on said display.

6 . A medical treatment apparatus comprising:

a high intensity focused ultrasound transducer disposable in juxtaposition to a patient;

a servomechanism operatively connected to said transducer for moving said transducer along a path;

a signal generator operatively connected to said transducer for energizing same to produce focused ultrasonic pressure waves in the patient continuously during motion of said transducer along said path; and

a computer operatively connected to said servomechanism for determining said path and controlling said servomechanism to move said transducer along said path,

said computer being operatively connected to said generator for controlling same to energize said transducer continuously during motion of said transducer along said path.

7 . The apparatus defined in claim 6 , further comprising at least one input peripheral operatively connected to said computer for enabling a user to input into said computer information identifying the location of a target tissue region inside a patient, said computer being programmed to determine said path in accordance with said information so that the energizing of said transducer continuously during motion thereof along said path destroys contiguous portions of said target tissue region.

8 . The apparatus in claim 7 wherein said input peripheral includes a touch-sensitive display screen.

9 . The apparatus defined in claim 8 , further comprising at least one scanning transducer, said computer being operatively connected to said scanning transducer for conducting a scan of internal tissues of a patient, said computer being programmed to generate signals encoding images of internal tissue regions of the patient from data obtained by said scan, said display screen being operatively connected to said computer for displaying said images.