摘要:
An ultrasound device and method for the treatment of intervertebral disc tissue for remediation of back pain. An applicator comprises a catheter and/or needle with a distal tip including one or more ultrasound transducer crystals. The crystals produce high-powered ultrasound energy that is transmitted and absorbed in the disc tissue. The resulting temperature elevation of the disc tissue shrinks the collagen fibers in the surrounding tissue, and/or destroying small nerves that may have invaded and innervated the surrounding degenerated tissue, and can provide increased structural integrity and disc support for the fragmented nucleus pulposus to relieve pressure on the spinal nerves.
摘要:
An ultrasound device and method for the treatment of intervertebral disc tissue for remediation of back pain. An applicator comprises a catheter and/or needle with a distal tip including one or more ultrasound transducer crystals. The crystals produce high-powered ultrasound energy that is transmitted and absorbed in the disc tissue. The resulting temperature elevation of the disc tissue shrinks the collagen fibers in the surrounding tissue, and/or destroying small nerves that may have invaded and innervated the surrounding degenerated tissue, and can provide increased structural integrity and disc support for the fragmented nucleus pulposus to relieve pressure on the spinal nerves.
摘要:
A high-power ultrasound heating applicator for minimally-invasive thermal treatment of uterine fibroids or myomas. High-intensity interstitial ultrasound, applied with minimally-invasive laparoscopic or hysteroscopic procedures, is used to effectively treat fibroids within the myometrium in lieu of major surgery. The applicators are configured with high-power capabilities and thermal penetration to treat large volumes of fibroid tissue (>70 cm3) in short treatment times (3-20 minutes), while maintaining three-dimensional control of energy delivery to thermally destroy the target volume.
摘要:
A method of localizing a medical tool, the method comprising: (1) generating an image of a reference target with a camera that is attached to a medical tool, wherein the reference target is remote from the medical tool and located in a room at a known position relative to a coordinate system; and (2) determining the position of the medical tool relative to the coordinate system at least partially on the basis of the generated image of the reference target. Examples of medical tools that can be localized in accordance with the present invention include medical imaging devices, surgical instruments, and bite blocks.
摘要:
A method and system for two and three dimensional mapping of tissue density and/or structural changes from image data and/or spatial reflected or transmitted signal maps, and correlating the maps to changes in collagen density. The method and system includes the steps of: receiving an image or spatial maps of acoustic-derived RF signal data from tissue comprised of multiple pixels, segregating the image into groups of pixels, each group of pixels having characteristics within a defined class, establishing a baseline set of classes corresponding to initial conditions of the imaged/mapped tissue, measuring a differential in the set of classes for a group of pixels, the differential corresponding to a change in pixel values for the group of pixels, correlating said measured differential to a density change for the tissue corresponding to the group of pixels, and overlaying an indication of collagen density over the tissue image or mapped signal responses correlated with thermal dose indicating a change in collagen density for the tissue.
摘要:
A technique for detecting implanted seeds automatically from CT image data. Various features of the inventive technique include (1) thresholding a 3D CT data set on a voxel basis; and (2) using the Hough transform to identify shapes within the thresholded data that match a predefined 3D shape corresponding to an implanted seed.