Granted Patent B2

US 12,746,413 · App. 18/737,746 · Granted Sep 29, 2026

Inventors: Jonathan M. Cannata (Ann Arbor, MI); Timothy L. Hall (Ann Arbor, MI); Adam D. Maxwell (Ann Arbor, MI); Dejan Teofilovic (Ann Arbor, MI)

Assignees: HISTOSONICS, INC.; THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

A61N7/00A61B17/22004A61B2017/00176A61B2017/22008A61B2017/22028A61B17/225A61N2007/0039A61N2007/0078

Abstract

Claims (16)

1 . An ultrasound therapy system, comprising:

an ultrasound therapy transducer; and

a waveform generator coupled to the ultrasound therapy transducer, the waveform generator being configured to drive the ultrasound therapy transducer to:

deliver a first pulse of a histotripsy excitation sequence into tissue, the first pulse comprising an initiation pressure waveform configured to produce at least one bubble in the tissue;

after a first time delay, deliver a second pulse of the histotripsy excitation sequence into tissue, the second pulse comprising a scattering pressure waveform configured to interact with the at least one bubble within a life-cycle of the at least one bubble and further to produce a cavitation nuclei near the at least one bubble;

after a second time delay different than the first time delay, repeat delivery of the first pulse of the histotripsy excitation sequence to produce at least one bubble in the tissue; and

after a third time delay equal to the first time delay, repeat delivery of the second pulse of the histotripsy excitation sequence into the tissue to interact with the at least one bubble within a life-cycle of the at least one bubble and further to produce cavitation nuclei near the at least one bubble.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first time delay comprises 5 μs to 200 μs.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the waveform generator is configured to drive the ultrasound therapy transducer to repeatedly deliver sequential pairs of the initiation pressure waveform and the scattering pressure waveform separated by the second time delay until treatment of the tissue is completed.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein a peak-to-peak pressure of the scattering pressure waveform is sufficient in amplitude to create additional cavitation nuclei in the focal region.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the waveform generator is configured to drive the ultrasound therapy transducer to deliver a second scattering pressure waveform towards the at least one bubble and the cavitation nuclei after delivering the scattering pressure waveform.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the histotripsy excitation sequence comprising the initiation pressure waveform and the scattering pressure waveform has a sequence pulse repetition frequency ranging from 1-5000 Hz.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the scattering pressure waveform delivers less energy to intervening tissue than the initiation pressure waveform.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the initiation pressure waveform and the scattering pressure waveform have similar pressure amplitudes.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein a pressure amplitude of the scattering pressure waveform is less than a pressure amplitude of the initiation pressure waveform.

10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein a pressure amplitude of the scattering pressure waveform is more than a pressure amplitude of the initiation pressure waveform.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (400)