Ultrasonic cavitation control method, system and device and ultrasonic focusing treatment equipment

Abstract

The invention relates to an ultrasonic cavitation control method, system and device and ultrasonic focusing treatment equipment. The method comprises the steps that an intrinsic threshold value at a target position is acquired; receiving an energy control instruction and a phase control instruction; an ultrasonic pulse is generated according to the energy control instruction, the energy control instruction comprises a first energy control instruction, and the ultrasonic pulse generated according to the first energy control instruction is a first ultrasonic pulse with peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold value of the target; the ultrasonic pulse is focused to the target according to the phase control instruction, bubble cloud is generated at the target, and the first ultrasonic pulse is focused to the target to generate first bubble cloud. According to the embodiment of the invention, the bubble cloud can be generated without multiple times of ultrasonic pulse excitation, so that the generated bubble cloud is more controllable, more accurate, more effective and safer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of medical instruments, and in particular to an ultrasonic cavitation control method, system, device and ultrasonic focusing treatment equipment. Background Art

[0002] Ultrasonic cavitation technology uses high-intensity, low-duty-cycle pulsed energy to act on the target, inducing controlled cavitation (bubble cloud formation) in the focal volume through extremely short, intense bursts of acoustic energy. The violent expansion and collapse of these microbubbles mechanically homogenize the cells and tissue structures in the focal volume, turning them into cell-free body fluids or subcellular levels without damaging the surrounding healthy tissues.

[0003] In the current ultrasonic cavitation technology, the size of the damage cannot be controlled and the damage caused to the target is unpredictable.

[0004] Therefore, how to induce controlled cavitation on the target accurately and stably to produce damage more accurately, effectively and safely is a technical problem that needs to be urgently solved in ultrasonic cavitation technology. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems or at least partially solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides an ultrasonic cavitation control method, system, device and ultrasonic focusing treatment equipment.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present invention provides an ultrasonic cavitation control method, the method comprising:

[0007] Get the intrinsic threshold at the target;

[0008] receiving energy control instructions and phase control instructions;

[0009] generating an ultrasonic pulse according to the energy control instruction, wherein the energy control instruction includes a first energy control instruction, and the ultrasonic pulse generated according to the first energy control instruction is a first ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target;

[0010] The ultrasonic pulse is focused to the target according to the phase control instruction to generate a bubble cloud at the target, wherein the first ultrasonic pulse is focused to the target to generate a first bubble cloud.

[0011] Optionally, the ultrasonic pulse includes 0.5-3 cycles of ultrasonic waves.

[0012] Optionally, the ultrasonic pulse includes a negative pressure half-cycle ultrasonic wave, and the negative pressure half-cycle ultrasonic wave has a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target.

[0013] Optionally, the shape of the bubble cloud corresponds to the shape of a focal zone of a treatment head that generates the ultrasonic pulses.

[0014] Optionally, the damage diameter of the damaged area produced by the energy of the ultrasonic pulse is smaller than the diameter of the bubble cloud.

[0015] Optionally, the damage diameter of the damaged area produced by the energy of the ultrasonic pulse corresponds to the amplitude of the peak negative pressure of the ultrasonic pulse exceeding the intrinsic threshold at the target.

[0016] Optionally, the damage diameter of the damaged area produced by the energy of the ultrasonic pulse is less than 900 μm.

[0017] Optionally, the intrinsic threshold at the target is greater than or equal to 13.7 MPa peak negative pressure and less than or equal to 36 MPa peak negative pressure.

[0018] Optionally, the intrinsic threshold at the target is greater than or equal to 26 MPa peak negative pressure and less than or equal to 30 MPa peak negative pressure.

[0019] Optionally, the time interval between two adjacent ultrasonic pulses is used as a pulse repetition period, and the pulse repetition period is at least 200 ms.

[0020] Optionally, the ratio of the duration of the ultrasonic pulse to the pulse repetition period is less than or equal to 1%, and the spatial peak pulse average intensity of the ultrasonic pulse is greater than 30 kW / cm 2 .

[0021] Optionally, the frequency of the ultrasonic pulse is 250kHz-6MHz, and the number of the ultrasonic pulses at each target is 50 to 6000 times.

[0022] Optionally, the energy control instruction further includes a second energy control instruction, and the method further includes:

[0023] generating a second ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target according to the second energy control instruction;

[0024] focusing the second ultrasonic pulse to the target to generate a second bubble cloud according to the phase control instruction;

[0025] The peak negative pressure of the second ultrasonic pulse is smaller than the peak negative pressure of the first ultrasonic pulse, and the second diameter of the second bubble cloud is smaller than the first diameter of the first bubble cloud.

[0026] Optionally, the energy control instruction further includes a third energy control instruction, and the method further includes:

[0027] generating a third ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target according to the third energy control instruction;

[0028] focusing the third ultrasonic pulse to the target to generate a third bubble cloud according to the phase control instruction;

[0029] The peak negative pressure of the third ultrasonic pulse is greater than the peak negative pressure of the first ultrasonic pulse, and the third diameter of the third bubble cloud is greater than the first diameter of the first bubble cloud.

[0030] Optionally, before generating the first ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target, the method further comprises:

[0031] Acquire a preset range around the target as a preprocessing area;

[0032] receiving a preprocessing energy control instruction and a preprocessing phase control instruction;

[0033] generating a pre-processed ultrasound pulse having a peak negative pressure below an intrinsic threshold at the target according to the pre-processed energy control instruction;

[0034] The pretreatment ultrasound pulse is focused to the pretreatment area according to the pretreatment phase control instruction.

[0035] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0036] Acquire an image at the target, wherein the image is a formation image of a bubble cloud at the target;

[0037] The image is received and displayed to adjust the size of the bubble cloud by feedback from the image.

[0038] In a second aspect, an ultrasonic cavitation control system is provided, the system comprising:

[0039] An acquisition unit, used for acquiring an intrinsic threshold at a target;

[0040] A receiving unit, used for receiving an energy control instruction and a phase control instruction;

[0041] an ultrasonic transducer unit, configured to generate an ultrasonic pulse according to the energy control instruction, wherein the energy control instruction includes a first energy control instruction, and the ultrasonic pulse generated according to the first energy control instruction is a first ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target;

[0042] A focusing unit is used to focus the ultrasonic pulse to the target according to the phase control instruction to generate a bubble cloud at the target, wherein the first ultrasonic pulse is focused to the target to generate a first bubble cloud.

[0043] Optionally, the system further includes:

[0044] A monitoring unit, used for acquiring an image at the target, wherein the image is an image of a bubble cloud formed at the target;

[0045] A display unit is used to receive and display the image, so as to adjust the size of the bubble cloud through feedback of the image.

[0046] In a third aspect, an ultrasonic cavitation control device is provided, the device comprising:

[0047] A control host is used to obtain an intrinsic threshold at a target;

[0048] The control host is also used to receive energy control instructions and phase control instructions;

[0049] A treatment head, used for generating ultrasonic pulses according to the energy control instructions;

[0050] The treatment head is also used to focus the ultrasound pulse to the target according to the phase control instruction, so as to generate a bubble cloud at the target;

[0051] The energy control instruction includes a first energy control instruction, the ultrasonic pulse generated according to the first energy control instruction is a first ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target, and the first ultrasonic pulse is focused to the target to generate a first bubble cloud;

[0052] The mechanical arm is used to drive the treatment head to move.

[0053] Optionally, the device further comprises:

[0054] An imaging head, which is disposed on the treatment head and moves with the movement of the treatment head, and is used to obtain an image at the target, wherein the image is a formed image of a bubble cloud at the target;

[0055] A display screen is used to receive and display the image, so as to adjust the size of the bubble cloud through feedback of the image.

[0056] In a fourth aspect, an ultrasonic focused therapy device is provided, using the method described in any one of the above items.

[0057] The present invention provides an ultrasonic cavitation control method, system, device and ultrasonic focusing treatment equipment, the method comprising: obtaining an intrinsic threshold at a target; receiving an energy control instruction and a phase control instruction; generating an ultrasonic pulse according to the energy control instruction, wherein the energy control instruction comprises a first energy control instruction, and the ultrasonic pulse generated according to the first energy control instruction is a first ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding the intrinsic threshold at the target; focusing the ultrasonic pulse to the target according to the phase control instruction to generate a bubble cloud at the target, wherein the first ultrasonic pulse is focused to the target to generate a first bubble cloud. The embodiment of the present invention can generate a bubble cloud without multiple ultrasonic pulse excitations, so that the generated bubble cloud is more controllable, more accurate, more effective and safer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0058] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[0059] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative labor.

[0060] Figure 1 The figure shows the application environment of the ultrasonic cavitation control method in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0061] Figure 2 Shown is a flow chart of an ultrasonic cavitation control method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0062] Figure 3 Shown is a schematic diagram of a bubble cloud and damage caused by the bubble cloud according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0063] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the peak negative pressure and the lesion diameter according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0064] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the peak negative pressure and the lesion diameter according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0065] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the peak negative pressure and the lesion diameter according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0066] Figure 7 Shown is a structural block diagram of an ultrasonic cavitation control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0067] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0068] Figure 1 FIG. 2 is an application environment diagram of the ultrasonic cavitation control method in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 The ultrasonic cavitation control method is applied to an ultrasonic focusing treatment device / apparatus. The ultrasonic focusing treatment device / apparatus may include a display screen 110, a control host 120, a mechanical arm 130 and a treatment head 140, wherein the treatment head 140 includes an imaging head ( Figure 1 ), the device may also include a controller ( Figure 1 ). The controller may be arranged on the control host 120, or may be an external device. The controller may be a desktop terminal or a mobile terminal, and the mobile terminal may be at least one of a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, etc. The controller may also be implemented as a server or a server cluster composed of multiple servers.

[0069] The display screen 110 can display the image and treatment parameters at the target; the robotic arm 130 can drive the treatment head 140 to move; the treatment head 140 transmits and / or receives the ultrasound and focuses the ultrasound to the target; the control host 120 can drive the treatment head 140 and control the entire system and equipment.

[0070] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an ultrasonic cavitation control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 As shown, the method includes:

[0071] Step 210, obtaining an intrinsic threshold at the target;

[0072] Step 220, receiving an energy control instruction and a phase control instruction;

[0073] Step 230, generating an ultrasonic pulse according to the energy control instruction, wherein the energy control instruction includes a first energy control instruction, and the ultrasonic pulse generated according to the first energy control instruction is a first ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target;

[0074] Step 240, focusing the ultrasonic pulse to the target according to the phase control instruction to generate a bubble cloud at the target, wherein the first ultrasonic pulse is focused to the target to generate a first bubble cloud.

[0075] The method of the embodiment of the present invention generates a first ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding the intrinsic threshold at the target, and focuses the first ultrasonic pulse at the target to generate a first bubble cloud at the target. The method of the embodiment of the present invention can generate a bubble cloud without multiple ultrasonic pulse excitations, so that the generated bubble cloud is more controllable, more accurate, more effective and safer.

[0076] In the embodiment of the present invention, the first ultrasonic pulse includes 0.5-3 cycles of ultrasonic waves.

[0077] In the embodiment of the present invention, the first ultrasonic pulse includes 0.5-1.5 cycles of ultrasonic waves.

[0078] In the embodiment of the present invention, the first ultrasonic pulse includes a negative pressure half-cycle ultrasonic wave, and the negative pressure half-cycle ultrasonic wave has a peak negative pressure exceeding the intrinsic threshold at the target.

[0079] In the embodiment of the present invention, the ultrasonic pulse includes 0.5-3 cycles of ultrasonic waves.

[0080] In the embodiment of the present invention, the number of ultrasonic cycles of the ultrasonic pulse can be 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, or any value in the range of 0.5-3. The target is treated with ultrasonic waves of a shorter period, i.e., the ultrasonic pulse has a short duration, so that a thermal effect can be prevented. A bubble cloud with at least one bubble can be generated at the target only when at least a portion of the peak negative pressure half-cycle of the ultrasonic pulse exceeds the intrinsic threshold at the target.

[0081] In the embodiment of the present invention, the shape of the bubble cloud corresponds to the shape of the focal area of ​​the treatment head that generates the ultrasonic pulse.

[0082] In the embodiment of the present invention, the damaged diameter of the damaged area generated by the energy of the ultrasonic pulse is smaller than the diameter of the bubble cloud.

[0083] In the embodiment of the present invention, the damage diameter of the damaged area generated by the energy of the ultrasonic pulse corresponds to the amplitude of the peak negative pressure of the ultrasonic pulse exceeding the intrinsic threshold at the target.

[0084] In the embodiment of the present invention, the damage diameter of the damaged area generated by the energy of the ultrasonic pulse is less than 900 μm.

[0085] In the embodiment of the present invention, the intrinsic threshold at the target is greater than or equal to 13.7 MPa peak negative pressure and less than or equal to 36 MPa peak negative pressure.

[0086] In the embodiment of the present invention, the intrinsic threshold at the target is greater than or equal to 26 MPa peak negative pressure and less than or equal to 30 MPa peak negative pressure.

[0087] Figure 4 and Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the relationship between the peak negative pressure and the lesion diameter according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the beam profile is represented by a solid line and the intrinsic threshold is represented by a dotted line. Figure 4 The amplitude (f) by which the peak negative pressure of the ultrasonic pulse exceeds the intrinsic threshold at the target is relatively large. Figure 5 If Figure 4 The diameter of the damaged area caused by the ultrasonic pulse is also larger than Figure 5 Big.

[0088] In the embodiment of the present invention, the intrinsic threshold at the target is greater than or equal to 10 MPa peak negative pressure; or

[0089] The intrinsic threshold at the target is greater than or equal to 10 MPa peak negative pressure and less than or equal to 50 MPa peak negative pressure; or

[0090] The intrinsic threshold at the target is greater than or equal to 13.7 MPa peak negative pressure and less than or equal to 36 MPa peak negative pressure; or

[0091] The intrinsic threshold at the target is greater than or equal to 15 MPa peak negative pressure and less than or equal to 30 MPa peak negative pressure; or

[0092] The intrinsic threshold at the target is greater than or equal to 26 MPa peak negative pressure and less than or equal to 30 MPa peak negative pressure; or

[0093] The intrinsic threshold at the target is greater than or equal to 28 MPa peak negative pressure.

[0094] In the embodiments of the present invention, the intrinsic thresholds of all high water content samples (such as blood clots, liver, kidneys, heart, brain, spleen, pancreas, blood, water, hydrogels, etc.) are between 26MPa and 30MPa peak negative pressures, while the intrinsic thresholds of other media are between 13.7MPa and 36MPa peak negative pressures.

[0095] In the embodiment of the present invention, the intrinsic threshold at the target may be 13.7 MPa, 15 MPa, 26 MPa, 28 MPa, 30 MPa, 36 MPa, or any value within the range of 13.7 MPa to 36 MPa.

[0096] In an embodiment of the present invention, the first bubble cloud is formed at the target without impact scattering, and the shape of the first bubble cloud corresponds to the shape of the focal zone of the treatment head. The first bubble cloud can cause a first lesion at the target, and the diameter of the first lesion is smaller than the first diameter of the first bubble cloud; specifically, the first lesion diameter is smaller than 900 μm. Preferably, the first lesion diameter is smaller than 200 μm; preferably, the first lesion diameter is smaller than 100 μm.

[0097] The bubble cloud formed by a single ultrasonic pulse in an embodiment of the present invention is more consistent in spatial distribution. In addition, the diameter formed by a single ultrasonic pulse depends on the extent to which the peak negative pressure portion of the waveform exceeds the intrinsic threshold. The amplitude of the waveform can be increased to allow more waveforms to exceed the intrinsic threshold, resulting in a larger bubble cloud diameter. The damage diameter at the target caused by the increase in waveform amplitude also increases accordingly. Therefore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the method and appropriate hardware allow the damage diameter to be changed by changing the intensity of the ultrasonic pulse. In addition, if the pulse consists of only one peak negative half-cycle, a pulse below the intrinsic threshold will not generate a bubble cloud because there is no subsequent positive half-cycle for the pressure release scattering mode to generate a complete bubble cloud. In this case (below the intrinsic threshold), the first peak negative half-cycle will only produce sparsely distributed single bubbles.

[0098] Therefore, the lower limit of the size of the damage caused by the bubble cloud is the diameter of a single bubble, which is much smaller than the wavelength of the ultrasonic waveform that produces the bubble. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the ultrasonic cavitation control method described can produce damage size that is much smaller than the diffraction limit determined by the frequency of the ultrasonic source.

[0099] In the embodiment of the present invention, the time interval between two adjacent ultrasonic pulses is used as a pulse repetition period, and the pulse repetition period is at least 200 ms.

[0100] In the embodiment of the present invention, the ratio of the duration of the ultrasonic pulse to the pulse repetition period is less than or equal to 1%, and the spatial peak pulse average intensity (ISPPA) of the ultrasonic pulse is greater than 30 kW / cm 2 .

[0101] In the embodiment of the present invention, the frequency of the ultrasonic pulse is 250kHz-6MHz, and the number of the ultrasonic pulses at each target is 50 to 6000 times.

[0102] In the embodiment of the present invention, the frequency of the ultrasonic pulse can be 250kHz, 500kHz, 800kHz, 2MHz, 3MHz, 4MHz, 5MHz, 6MHz, or any value in the range of 250kHz-6MHz. The number of ultrasonic pulses can be 50, 100, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 6000, or any value in the range of 50 to 6000. Multiple ultrasonic pulse treatments are performed at the same target to produce a complete damage effect at the target.

[0103] In the embodiment of the present invention, a peak negative pressure higher than the intrinsic threshold can be generated in the target location only by high-intensity, low-duty-cycle ultrasonic pulses, and the generated peak negative pressure can be adjusted by adjusting ISPPA.

[0104] In the embodiment of the present invention, the energy control instruction further includes a second energy control instruction, and the method further includes:

[0105] generating a second ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target according to the second energy control instruction;

[0106] focusing the second ultrasonic pulse to the target to generate a second bubble cloud according to the phase control instruction;

[0107] The peak negative pressure of the second ultrasonic pulse is smaller than the peak negative pressure of the first ultrasonic pulse, and the second diameter of the second bubble cloud is smaller than the first diameter of the first bubble cloud.

[0108] In the embodiment of the present invention, the energy control instruction further includes a third energy control instruction, and the method further includes:

[0109] generating a third ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target according to the third energy control instruction;

[0110] focusing the third ultrasonic pulse to the target to generate a third bubble cloud according to the phase control instruction;

[0111] The peak negative pressure of the third ultrasonic pulse is greater than the peak negative pressure of the first ultrasonic pulse, and the third diameter of the third bubble cloud is greater than the first diameter of the first bubble cloud.

[0112] In an embodiment of the present invention, the range of the bubble cloud can be controlled by the intensity of the peak negative waveform exceeding the intrinsic threshold, which is proportional to the pulse intensity. Therefore, the minimum damage size is only limited by the size of the smallest bubble cloud, that is, the diameter of a single bubble. For example, the diameter of the bubble formed by a 1MHz treatment head near the tissue threshold is 100-200μm, that is, 0.06-0.13 wavelengths. The growth of the bubble is inversely proportional to the frequency, but in most cases, the proportion of the wavelength they occupy is similar. Target limitations can also limit the maximum expansion of the bubble to below these values. Therefore, instead of a diffraction limit of several millimeters, the minimum damage diameter produced by the method of an embodiment of the present invention can be as small as 100μm, or the damage diameter can be reduced to an order of magnitude below the diffraction limit.

[0113] In an embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes:

[0114] Acquire an image at the target, wherein the image is a formation image of a bubble cloud at the target;

[0115] The image is received and displayed to adjust the size of the bubble cloud by feedback from the image.

[0116] In one embodiment, a first ultrasound pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold may be transmitted into a target to generate a first bubble cloud, the size of which may be monitored by real-time imaging. Next, a second ultrasound pulse having an amplitude different from that of the first ultrasound pulse may be transmitted into the target to generate a second bubble cloud, and if the amplitude of the second ultrasound pulse is smaller than the first ultrasound pulse, but the pulse still includes a peak negative pressure above the intrinsic threshold, the generated second bubble cloud will be smaller than the first bubble cloud. If a third ultrasound pulse having an amplitude greater than the first ultrasound pulse is transmitted in the tissue to generate a third bubble cloud, the generated third bubble cloud will be larger than the first bubble cloud.

[0117] In the embodiment of the present invention, the time interval between two adjacent ultrasonic pulses is used as a pulse repetition period, and the pulse repetition period is at least 200 ms.

[0118] In the embodiment of the present invention, the pulse repetition period is at least 1 ms, or

[0119] The pulse repetition period is at least 50 ms, or

[0120] The pulse repetition period is at least 200 ms, or

[0121] The pulse repetition period is at least 500 ms, or

[0122] The pulse repetition period is at least 1 s, or

[0123] The pulse repetition period is at least 5s.

[0124] In the embodiment of the present invention, the pulse repetition period may be 1 ms, 10 ms, 100 ms, 1 s, 10 s, or any value greater than or equal to 1 ms.

[0125] The pulse repetition period can also be expressed as a pulse repetition frequency, or PRF, which indicates the repetition frequency between sending the first ultrasonic pulse and sending the second ultrasonic pulse at the same target, and is the inverse of the pulse repetition period, that is, the larger the PRF, the shorter the pulse interval.

[0126] After the cavitation bubble cloud collapses violently, the residual cavitation bubbles can persist as unstable nuclei for several seconds. When the pulse repetition period is less than the dissolution time, the unstable nuclei are preferentially re-excited, a phenomenon known as the cavitation memory effect. The spatial distribution and extent of the cavitation bubble cloud are highly dependent on the PRF. When the ultrasound pulses are separated by short time intervals (high PRF), the bubbles tend to nucleate at approximately the same location and form more spatially confined bubble clouds, which can lead to non-uniform damage in focal areas. When the ultrasound pulses are separated by sufficiently long time intervals (low PRF), each ultrasound pulse produces a more random and spatially distinct cavitation bubble cloud as unstable nuclei are allowed to dissolve. These cavitation bubble clouds are considered to be a population of nanometer-sized nuclei inherent to aqueous media. Therefore, the use of a lower PRF can reduce or eliminate the cavitation memory effect.

[0127] In one embodiment of the present invention, increasing the pulse repetition period from 2 ms to greater than 200 ms reduces the number of pulses required to separate 25% of the target volume by more than an order of magnitude.

[0128] The method of the embodiment of the present invention can generate ultrasonic pulses that can cause damage to biological tissues, biological cells, industrial products, etc. The damage diameter is the maximum damage width of the damage area.

[0129] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of a bubble cloud and damage caused by the bubble cloud according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 The schematic diagram can be a photo taken with a high-speed camera. Figure 3 As shown, Figure 3 (g) to Figure 3 (l) is the bubble cloud generated by ultrasonic pulses with different peak negative pressures. Figure 3 (a) to Figure 3 (f) Schematic diagram of damage corresponding to bubble clouds with different peak negative pressures; Figure 3 In the figure, the damage caused by the bubble cloud in the lower row is the same as that in the corresponding upper row, that is, Figure 3 (a) The damage is Figure 3 (g) Bubble cloud generated by Figure 3 (b) The damage is Figure 3 (h) Bubble cloud generated.

[0130] Figure 6 FIG. 4 is another schematic diagram showing the relationship between the peak negative pressure and the lesion diameter according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 As shown, the actual damage is represented by solid circles ●, the bubble cloud area is represented by hollow squares □, and the damage estimate based on the intrinsic threshold is represented by a dotted line. The quantitative size of the damage and the area occupied by the bubble cloud increases linearly with the applied P-. The size of the actual damage is slightly smaller than the size of the area occupied by the bubble cloud, and the difference between the two is in the range of 0.5-1mm. The actual damage size at lower pressure levels is in good agreement with the damage estimate based on the intrinsic threshold, and the difference between the actual damage size and the estimate becomes larger as the pressure level increases.

[0131] In an embodiment of the present invention, before generating the first ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target, the method further includes:

[0132] Acquire a preset range around the target as a preprocessing area;

[0133] receiving a preprocessing energy control instruction and a preprocessing phase control instruction;

[0134] generating a pre-processed ultrasound pulse having a peak negative pressure below an intrinsic threshold at the target according to the pre-processed energy control instruction;

[0135] The pretreatment ultrasound pulse is focused to the pretreatment area according to the pretreatment phase control instruction.

[0136] In an embodiment of the present invention, a preset range around the target is used as a pretreatment area, and the group of pretreatment ultrasound pulses are focused to the pretreatment area. Since the pretreatment ultrasound pulses have a peak negative pressure lower than the intrinsic threshold of the target, there is no damage to the pretreatment area, and the damage of the therapeutic ultrasound pulses to the pretreatment area outside the target can be suppressed, and the effect of the therapeutic ultrasound pulses on the target is not interfered with.

[0137] Figure 7 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasonic cavitation control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 As shown, the system comprises:

[0138] An acquisition unit 710 is used to acquire an intrinsic threshold at a target;

[0139] A receiving unit 720, configured to receive an energy control instruction and a phase control instruction;

[0140] an ultrasonic transducer unit 730, configured to generate an ultrasonic pulse according to the energy control instruction, wherein the energy control instruction includes a first energy control instruction, and the ultrasonic pulse generated according to the first energy control instruction is a first ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target;

[0141] The focusing unit 740 is used to focus the ultrasonic pulse to the target according to the phase control instruction to generate a bubble cloud at the target, wherein the first ultrasonic pulse is focused to the target to generate a first bubble cloud.

[0142] In the embodiment of the present invention, the ultrasonic pulse includes 0.5-3 cycles of ultrasonic waves.

[0143] In the embodiment of the present invention, the ultrasonic pulse includes a negative pressure half-cycle ultrasonic wave, and the negative pressure half-cycle ultrasonic wave has a peak negative pressure exceeding the intrinsic threshold at the target.

[0144] In the embodiment of the present invention, the shape of the bubble cloud corresponds to the shape of the focal area of ​​the treatment head that generates the ultrasonic pulse.

[0145] In the embodiment of the present invention, the damaged diameter of the damaged area generated by the energy of the ultrasonic pulse is smaller than the diameter of the bubble cloud.

[0146] In the embodiment of the present invention, the damage diameter of the damaged area generated by the energy of the ultrasonic pulse corresponds to the amplitude of the peak negative pressure of the ultrasonic pulse exceeding the intrinsic threshold at the target.

[0147] In the embodiment of the present invention, the damage diameter of the damaged area generated by the energy of the ultrasonic pulse is less than 900 μm.

[0148] In the embodiment of the present invention, the intrinsic threshold at the target is greater than or equal to 13.7 MPa peak negative pressure and less than or equal to 36 MPa peak negative pressure.

[0149] In the embodiment of the present invention, the time interval between two adjacent ultrasonic pulses is used as a pulse repetition period, and the pulse repetition period is at least 200 ms.

[0150] In the embodiment of the present invention, the ratio of the duration of the ultrasonic pulse to the pulse repetition period is less than or equal to 1%, and the spatial peak pulse average intensity of the ultrasonic pulse is greater than 30 kW / cm 2 .

[0151] In the embodiment of the present invention, the frequency of the ultrasonic pulse is 250kHz-6MHz, and the number of the ultrasonic pulses at each target is 50 to 6000 times.

[0152] In the embodiment of the present invention, the energy control instruction further includes a second energy control instruction, and the ultrasonic transducer unit 730 is further used for:

[0153] generating a second ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target according to the second energy control instruction;

[0154] The focusing unit 740 is also used for:

[0155] focusing the second ultrasonic pulse to the target to generate a second bubble cloud according to the phase control instruction;

[0156] The peak negative pressure of the second ultrasonic pulse is smaller than the peak negative pressure of the first ultrasonic pulse, and the second diameter of the second bubble cloud is smaller than the first diameter of the first bubble cloud.

[0157] In the embodiment of the present invention, the interval between generating the first ultrasonic pulse and generating the second ultrasonic pulse is used as the pulse repetition period, and the pulse repetition period is at least 1 ms, or

[0158] The pulse repetition period is at least 50 ms, or

[0159] The pulse repetition period is at least 200 ms, or

[0160] The pulse repetition period is at least 500 ms, or

[0161] The pulse repetition period is at least 1 s, or

[0162] The pulse repetition period is at least 5s.

[0163] In the embodiment of the present invention, the energy control instruction further includes a third energy control instruction, and the ultrasonic transducer unit 730 is further used for:

[0164] generating an ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target according to the third energy control instruction;

[0165] The focusing unit 440 is also used for:

[0166] focusing the third ultrasonic pulse to the target to generate a third bubble cloud according to the phase control instruction;

[0167] The peak negative pressure of the third ultrasonic pulse is greater than the peak negative pressure of the first ultrasonic pulse, and the third diameter of the third bubble cloud is greater than the first diameter of the first bubble cloud.

[0168] In the embodiment of the present invention, the acquisition unit 710 is further used to acquire a preset range around the target as a pre-processing area;

[0169] The receiving unit 720 is also used to receive a pre-processing energy control instruction and a pre-processing phase control instruction;

[0170] The ultrasonic transducer unit 730 is also used to generate a pre-processed ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure lower than the intrinsic threshold at the target according to the pre-processed energy control instruction;

[0171] The focusing unit 740 is further configured to focus the preprocessing ultrasound pulse to the preprocessing area according to the preprocessing phase control instruction.

[0172] The system of the embodiment of the present invention further includes:

[0173] A monitoring unit, used for acquiring an image at the target, wherein the image is an image of a bubble cloud formed at the target;

[0174] A display unit is used to receive and display the image, so as to adjust the size of the bubble cloud through feedback of the image.

[0175] The embodiment of the present invention further provides an ultrasonic cavitation control device, the device comprising:

[0176] A control host is used to obtain an intrinsic threshold at a target;

[0177] The control host is also used to receive energy control instructions and phase control instructions;

[0178] A treatment head, used for generating ultrasonic pulses according to the energy control instructions;

[0179] The treatment head is also used to focus the ultrasound pulse to the target according to the phase control instruction, so as to generate a bubble cloud at the target;

[0180] The energy control instruction includes a first energy control instruction, the ultrasonic pulse generated according to the first energy control instruction is a first ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target, and the first ultrasonic pulse is focused to the target to generate a first bubble cloud;

[0181] The mechanical arm is used to drive the treatment head to move.

[0182] The device also includes:

[0183] An imaging head, which is disposed on the treatment head and moves with the movement of the treatment head, and is used to obtain an image at the target, wherein the image is a formed image of a bubble cloud at the target;

[0184] A display screen is used to receive and display the image, so as to adjust the size of the bubble cloud through feedback of the image.

[0185] An embodiment of the present invention further provides an ultrasonic focusing treatment device, which uses the method described above.

[0186] The above-mentioned ultrasonic cavitation control method, system, device and ultrasonic focusing treatment equipment can achieve the beneficial effect of solving the technical problems raised in the background technology.

[0187] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an ultrasonic cavitation control method in one embodiment. It should be understood that although Figure 2 The steps in the flowchart are shown in sequence as indicated by the arrows, but these steps are not necessarily executed in the order indicated by the arrows. Unless otherwise specified in this document, there is no strict order restriction for the execution of these steps, and these steps can be executed in other orders. Moreover, Figure 2 At least part of the steps may include multiple sub-steps or multiple stages. These sub-steps or stages are not necessarily executed at the same time, but can be executed at different times. The execution order of these sub-steps or stages is not necessarily sequential, but can be executed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least part of the sub-steps or stages of other steps.

[0188] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiments can be completed by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program, and the program can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it can include the processes of the embodiments of the above-mentioned methods. Among them, any reference to memory, storage, database or other media used in the embodiments provided by the present invention can include non-volatile and / or volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can include read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) or flash memory. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory. As an illustration and not limitation, RAM is available in many forms, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDRSDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link (Synchlink) DRAM (SLDRAM), memory bus (Rambus) direct RAM (RDRAM), direct memory bus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM), and memory bus dynamic RAM (RDRAM).

[0189] It should be noted that, in this article, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprise a ..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the elements.

[0190] The foregoing is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, which enables those skilled in the art to understand or implement the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but rather to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features claimed herein.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic cavitation control method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Get the intrinsic threshold at the target; receiving energy control instructions and phase control instructions; generating an ultrasonic pulse according to the energy control instruction, wherein the energy control instruction includes a first energy control instruction, and the ultrasonic pulse generated according to the first energy control instruction is a first ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target; The ultrasonic pulse is focused to the target according to the phase control instruction to generate a bubble cloud at the target, wherein the first ultrasonic pulse is focused to the target to generate a first bubble cloud.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ultrasonic pulse includes 0.5-3 cycles of ultrasonic waves.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The ultrasonic pulse includes a negative pressure half-cycle ultrasonic wave having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shape of the bubble cloud corresponds to the shape of the focal area of ​​the treatment head that generates the ultrasound pulse.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The damaged area produced by the energy of the ultrasonic pulse has a damaged diameter that is smaller than the diameter of the bubble cloud.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The lesion diameter of the lesion zone produced by the energy of the ultrasound pulse corresponds to the magnitude at which the peak negative pressure of the ultrasound pulse exceeds the intrinsic threshold at the target.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The damage diameter of the damaged area produced by the energy of the ultrasonic pulse is less than 900 μm.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The intrinsic threshold at the target is greater than or equal to 13.7 MPa peak negative pressure and less than or equal to 36 MPa peak negative pressure.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The intrinsic threshold at the target is greater than or equal to 26 MPa peak negative pressure and less than or equal to 30 MPa peak negative pressure.

10. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The time interval between two adjacent ultrasonic pulses is taken as a pulse repetition period, and the pulse repetition period is at least 200 ms.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The ratio of the duration of the ultrasonic pulse to the pulse repetition period is less than or equal to 1%, and the spatial peak pulse average intensity of the ultrasonic pulse is greater than 30kW / cm 2 .

12. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The frequency of the ultrasonic pulse is 250kHz-6MHz, and the number of the ultrasonic pulses at each target is 50 to 6000 times.

13. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The energy control instruction further includes a second energy control instruction, and the method further includes: generating a second ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target according to the second energy control instruction; focusing the second ultrasonic pulse to the target to generate a second bubble cloud according to the phase control instruction; The peak negative pressure of the second ultrasonic pulse is smaller than the peak negative pressure of the first ultrasonic pulse, and the second diameter of the second bubble cloud is smaller than the first diameter of the first bubble cloud.

14. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The energy control instruction further includes a third energy control instruction, and the method further includes: generating a third ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target according to the third energy control instruction; focusing the third ultrasonic pulse to the target to generate a third bubble cloud according to the phase control instruction; The peak negative pressure of the third ultrasonic pulse is greater than the peak negative pressure of the first ultrasonic pulse, and the third diameter of the third bubble cloud is greater than the first diameter of the first bubble cloud.

15. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Prior to generating a first ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target, the method further comprises: Acquire a preset range around the target as a preprocessing area; receiving a preprocessing energy control instruction and a preprocessing phase control instruction; generating a pre-processed ultrasound pulse having a peak negative pressure below an intrinsic threshold at the target according to the pre-processed energy control instruction; The pretreatment ultrasound pulse is focused to the pretreatment area according to the pretreatment phase control instruction.

16. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Acquire an image at the target, wherein the image is a formation image of a bubble cloud at the target; The image is received and displayed to adjust the size of the bubble cloud by feedback from the image.

17. An ultrasonic cavitation control system, characterized in that: The system comprises: An acquisition unit, used for acquiring an intrinsic threshold at a target; A receiving unit, used for receiving an energy control instruction and a phase control instruction; an ultrasonic transducer unit, configured to generate an ultrasonic pulse according to the energy control instruction, wherein the energy control instruction includes a first energy control instruction, and the ultrasonic pulse generated according to the first energy control instruction is a first ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding an intrinsic threshold at the target; A focusing unit is used to focus the ultrasonic pulse to the target according to the phase control instruction to generate a bubble cloud at the target, wherein the first ultrasonic pulse is focused to the target to generate a first bubble cloud.

18. The system according to claim 17, characterized in that The system further comprises: A monitoring unit, used for acquiring an image at the target, wherein the image is an image of a bubble cloud formed at the target; A display unit is used to receive and display the image, so as to adjust the size of the bubble cloud through feedback of the image.

19. An ultrasonic cavitation control device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A control host is used to obtain an intrinsic threshold at a target; The control host is also used to receive energy control instructions and phase control instructions; A treatment head, used for generating ultrasonic pulses according to the energy control instructions; The treatment head is also used to focus the ultrasound pulse to the target according to the phase control instruction, so as to generate a bubble cloud at the target; Among them, the energy control instruction includes a first energy control instruction, and the ultrasonic pulse generated according to the first energy control instruction is a first ultrasonic pulse having a peak negative pressure exceeding the intrinsic threshold at the target, and the first ultrasonic pulse is focused to the target to generate a first bubble cloud.

20. The device according to claim 19, characterized in that The device also includes: An imaging head, which is disposed on the treatment head and moves with the movement of the treatment head, and is used to obtain an image at the target, wherein the image is a formation image of the bubble cloud at the target; A display screen is used to receive and display the image, so as to adjust the size of the bubble cloud through feedback of the image.

21. An ultrasonic focused therapy device, characterized in that: Application of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

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