Systems and methods for non-invasive transcranial insonification

Abstract

A system and method for non-invasive transcranial ultrasound thrombolysis of a target cerebral vessel that ensures one-step optimal positioning of an ultrasound transducer with respect to a target without requiring repeated positioning and / or feedback representative of the quality of sonic action. The system includes built-in installation registration components that are defined in unique correspondence to selected external skull landmarks of the head, which in turn unambiguously define the location of the target vessel. Because of this unique correspondence, the mounting registration features are adapted to ensure that the transducer array of the system is automatically optimally aligned with the target when the system is positioned on the head for ultrasonic thrombolysis. In one implementation, the skull landmarks are selected to include left and right supra-auricular points and nasion to define a reference plane, and corresponding registration members are adapted to position the earphones of the system at an angle to the reference plane.

Description

[0001] Cross References to Related Applications [0002] This application claims the benefit and priority of U.S. Patent Application No. 13 / 209,385, filed August 13, 2011, entitled "Non-Invasive Transcranial Ultrasound Apparatus," which in turn claims Priority 61 / 453,771 for "Non-Invasive Transcranial Ultrasound Apparatus." This application also claims the benefit of and priority to the above-mentioned US Provisional Application 61 / 453,771. Each of the above-mentioned patent applications is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. technical field [0003] The present invention relates to ultrasound apparatus and methods, and, more particularly, to portable ultrasound systems with stereotaxic features configured to ensure that, once the system is placed on a subject's head, a predefined portion of the cerebral vessels predictably Receive sonic action without the routinely required feedback from the clinician. Background technique [0004] Various devices (referred...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, reliance on and reference to Doppler images is operator-dependent, and, inevitably, different operators place the same US device at different locations on the same head, thereby affecting the resulting transcranial acoustic waves. The reproducibility of action makes a very noticeable difference

[0005] For example, in cases where insonification of a specific clot in a cerebral vessel is required, not only the aforementioned deviations and differences in the three-dimensional (3D) positioning of the US device on the head may result in imprecise insonation of the clot itself, Moreover, the safety of the sonication process itself may have problems

To counter these possibilities, operators are often required to perform additional diagnostic studies, which take even more time

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