Implantable ultrasound generating treating device for brain treatment, apparatus comprising such device and method implementing such device

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and an implantable ultrasound generating treating device and to induce brain disorder treatment, suitable for implantation in or under the skull bone of a patient, and comprising several ultrasound generating transducers (20) which are connectable by a common electrical connection circuit to a generator, and wherein the ultrasound generating transducers (20) each have one or several operating frequencies.

characterized in that the transducers comprise at least:

characterized in that the group of transducers consists of several transducers driven by a same electrical drive signal, and connected to the generator system by a common electrical connection circuit, where the electric drive signal serves both as power signal and as a control signal for operating selectively, within said group, at least one or the other of a first transducer or sub-group of transducers, and of a second transducer or sub-group of transducers.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a device, an apparatus and a method for the treatment of brain disorders.BACKGROUND ART[0002]In the last decades, the academic and clinical knowledge and understanding of brain processes and diseases have considerably improved and so have the medical and surgical treatments of such pathologies. One field of brain medicine which has particularly developed is the field of neuromodulation techniques, which consist in submitting brain areas to a physical stimulation like an electric current or a magnetic field to treat a neurological disorder. Among neuromodulation techniques, DBS (which stands for “Deep Brain Stimulation”) with electrical probes, TES (which stands for “Transcranial Electrical Stimulation”) and TMS (for “Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation”) are well known and exemplified in literature. U.S. Pat. No. 7,107,104 describes an implantable cortical neural lead for electrical stimulation of the cerebral cortex.[0003]Recently...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

In the field of brain cancer treatment, such neurostimulation techniques are not efficient.

Unfortunately, these drugs are not specifically active onto the tumors and they also have considerable negative effects in the whole body of patients, with very unpleasant side-effects like nausea, hair loss etc. . . . .

Known treatments of neurological and neurodegenerative diseases have limitations.

Indeed, the brain is particularly difficult to deliver drugs to because of the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

However, these permeability properties pose tremendous obstacles when it comes to pharmacological treatment.

WO-2011 / 101492 might not be adequate to address such an extension of the treatment zone.

Such a design is ideal for its ultrasound focusing properties, which is useful for imaging applications, but is not suitable for a diffuse unfocused treatment.

However, the presence of several transducers may be problematic in view of the risk that the ultrasound waves generated by such transducers may combine in such a way to create, locally in the treatment zone, unacceptably high pressures zones and / or the deposition of too much ultrasound power within a given tissue volume, resulting in unwanted or excessive heating of the tissue.

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