Claims
- 1. A method of heating a tissue of the body of a life form, comprising:
(a) directing pulsed ultrasonic waves to a selected site of the tissue; and (b) depositing at the selected site an amount of ultrasonic wave energy sufficient to heat the selected site without adversely damaging other areas of the body.
- 2. The method of claim 1 in which the pulsed ultrasonic waves are pulsed focused ultrasonic waves.
- 3. The method of claim 1 in which the tissue is an internal tissue.
- 4. The method of claim 1 in which the tissue is a ligamentous tissue.
- 5. The method of claim 4 in which the ligamentous tissue is associated with an intervertebral disc of the spine or a joint of the body.
- 6. The method of claim 5 in which the ligamentous tissue associated with an intervertebral disc is the nucleus pulposus.
- 7. The method of claim 1 in which the selected site is heated so that collagen crosslinking at the site is altered without adversely damaging other areas of the body.
- 8. The method of claim 1 in which the selected site is heated so that tissue in the selected site shrinks without adversely damaging other areas of the body.
- 9. A method of treating a ligamentous tissue, comprising:
(a) directing pulsed focused ultrasonic waves to a selected site of the tissue; and (b) depositing at the selected site an amount of ultrasonic wave energy sufficient to heat the site without adversely damaging other areas of the tissue.
- 10. The method of claim 9 in which the waves have a frequency of about 100 KHz to about 4 MHz.
- 11. The method of claim 9 in which the waves have a pulse duration of microseconds to seconds.
- 12. The method of claim 9 in which wave amplitude of the pulsed focused ultrasonic waves is determined by a signal amplitude of about 1V to about 20V before amplification.
- 13. The method of claim 9 in which the waves have a pulse rate of about 100 repetitions per second to about 1000 repetitions per second.
- 14. The method of claim 9 in which the waves have a pulse shape in the form of a sine-wave or a square-wave.
- 15. The method of claim 9 in which the waves have a frequency of about 100 KHz to about 4 MHz, a pulse duration of microseconds to seconds, a pulse rate of about 100 repetitions per second to about 1000 repetitions per second, a pulse shape in the form of a sine-wave or a square-wave, and wave amplitude of the pulsed focused ultrasonic waves is determined by a signal amplitude of about 1V to about 20V before amplification.
- 16. An apparatus for heating a tissue of the body of a life form, comprising:
(a) an ultrasonic source for producing pulsed ultrasonic waves; (b) a lens for focusing said pulsed ultrasonic waves on a selected site of the tissue; and (c) a controller for controlling wave frequency and transmission parameters of said pulsed ultrasonic waves so that ultrasonic wave energy is deposited at the selected site in an amount sufficient to heat the selected site without adversely damaging other areas of the tissue.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 16 in which the ultrasonic source is an ultrasonic transducer.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 16 in which the lens is an ultrasonic lens.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 16 in which the controller is a signal generator.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 16 in which the ultrasonic transducer comprises both the ultrasonic source and the lens.
- 21. The apparatus of claim 16 further comprising a temperature monitor for measuring the temperature of the selected site during heating.
- 22. An apparatus for treating ligamentous tissue comprising:
(a) a transducer assembly comprising an ultrasound transducer for producing pulsed focused ultrasonic waves, the transducer comprising a curved piezoelectric crystal; (b) a signal generator for controlling wave frequency and transmission parameters of said pulsed ultrasonic waves so that ultrasonic wave energy is deposited at a selected site of the tissue in an amount sufficient to heat the selected site without adversely damaging other areas of the tissue; and (c) an amplifier for amplifying the signal from the signal generator; said amplifier being coupled to the output of the signal generator, said amplifier driving the ultrasound transducer.
- 23. The apparatus of claim 22 further comprising a mounting fixture for holding the transducer assembly, and a positioning fixture for moving the transducer assembly.
- 24. The apparatus of claim 22 in which the waves have a frequency of about 100 KHz to about 4 MHz.
- 25. The apparatus of claim 22 in which the waves have a pulse duration of microseconds to seconds.
- 26. The apparatus of claim 22 in which wave amplitude of the pulsed focused ultrasonic waves is determined by a signal amplitude of about 1V to about 20V before amplification.
- 27. The apparatus of claim 22 in which the waves have a pulse rate of about 100 repetitions per second to about 1000 repetitions per second.
- 28. The apparatus of claim 22 in which the waves have a pulse shape in the form of a sine-wave or a square-wave.
- 29. The apparatus of claim 22 in which the waves have a frequency of about 100 KHz to about 4 MHz, a pulse duration of microseconds to seconds, a pulse rate of about 100 repetitions per second to about 1000 repetitions per second, a pulse shape in the form of a sine-wave or a square-wave, and wave amplitude of the pulsed focused ultrasonic waves is determined by a signal amplitude of about 1V to about 20V before amplification.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is based on provisional application No. 60/274,111, filed on Mar. 8, 2001.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60274111 |
Mar 2001 |
US |