129 results about "Acoustic shock" patented technology

This invention relates to methods for medical treatment of pathological conditions. More particularly, the invention relates to methods for using acoustic shock waves to treat a variety of pathological conditions such as plantar warts, deep bone bruises, prostate cancer, benign prostatic hypertrophy, urinary incontinence, and spinal cord injuries, including the reduction or removal of scar tissue to aid in spinal cord regrowth.

A method of enhancing the regeneration of injured nerves has the step of administering an effective exposure of pressure pulses or acoustic shock waves in a pulse or wave pattern to the zone of injury of the nerve during the regeneration process. The inventive method may include enhancing the stimulation of neuronal cell growth or regeneration by administering an effective exposure of pressure pulses or acoustic shock waves in a pulse or wave pattern to stimulate neuronal cell growth or regeneration, wherein the administering of the treatment is applied to a patient who has a pathological condition where neuronal repair can be facilitated including peripheral nerve damage caused by injury or disease such as diabetes, brain damage associated with stroke, and for the treatment of neurological disorders related to neurodegeneration, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral, sclerosis multiple sclerosis and disseminated sclerosis. The treatment is ideally suited for neural regeneration after a degenerative condition due to any neurological infections or any other pathological condition.

A MEMS capacitive transducer with increased robustness and resilience to acoustic shock. The transducer structure includes a flexible membrane supported between a first volume and a second volume, and at least one variable vent structure in communication with at least one of the first and second volumes. The variable vent structure includes at least one moveable portion which is moveable in response to a pressure differential across the moveable portion so as to vary the size of a flow path through the vent structure. The variable vent may be formed through the membrane and the moveable portion may be a part of the membrane, defined by one or more channels, that is deflectable away from the surface of the membrane. The variable vent is preferably closed in the normal range of pressure differentials but opens at high pressure differentials to provide more rapid equalisation of the air volumes above and below the membrane.

This invention relates to methods for medical treatment of a variety of pathological conditions associated with bone environments and musculoskeletal environments, including the treatment of ischemic conditions such as bursitis. The method involves applying a sufficient number of acoustic shock waves to the site of a pathological condition including micro-disruptions, non-osseous tissue stimulation, increased vascularization, and circulation and induction of growth factors to induce or accelerate the body's natural healing processes and responses.

A device, system and method for the generation of therapeutic acoustic shock waves for at least partially separating a deposit from a vascular structure. The shock waves may optionally be generated according to any mechanism which is known in the art, including but not limited to, spark gap technology, electromagnetic shock wave generation and piezoelectric technology for generating therapeutic pressure pulses. Examples of deposits which may be treated with the present invention include, but are not limited to, atherosclerotic plaques, any type of clot, and any type of thrombus or embolus. The vascular structure itself may be any such structure for conducting blood flow, including but not limited to arteries, veins and the aortic arch.

A medical device is described, which comprises a basic device and at least one replaceable component connected therewith, said component having an item belonging to the device that is subjected to high wear or consumption. A storage medium is connected to the component, which stores component-specific data and can be read independently of the basic device.

The method of treatment for a periodontal tissue exhibiting a periodontal disease or periodontal condition in a diagnosed patient is disclosed. The method has the steps of activating an acoustic shock wave generator or source to emit acoustic shock waves; and subjecting the periodontal tissue, or the entire periodontal region of the patient to the acoustic shock waves stimulating said tissue, wherein the tissue is positioned within a path of the emitted shock waves. The method of treatment may further have the steps of administering one or more medicaments prior, during or after subjecting the patient to acoustic shock waves or testing the bacterial count or viability of the treated tissue or region of the diagnosed patient after exposure to one or more acoustic shock wave treatments; or subjecting a tissue or organ to a surgical procedure to remove or repair some or all of any defects or degenerative tissues. The method of treatment is for prevention of periodontal disease and may be used with debridement. The treatment is particularly useful in eradicating and inhibiting periodontal biofilms.

A vessel hull transducer modular mounting system enables transducers to be replaced and upgraded without necessitating the further modification of the hull and thus not necessitating the dry-docking of the vessel. A further feature includes the ability to reduce and dampen acoustic shock impact on the transducer. Another feature includes the ability to extend and retract the transducer which can operate in bottom scan, forward looking, side scan, searchlight, and sweep modes.

The method of treatment for a nasal or sinus tissue exhibiting a sinusitis or rhinosinusitis disease or condition in a diagnosed patient is disclosed. The method has the steps of activating an acoustic shock wave generator or source to emit acoustic shock waves; and subjecting the nasal or sinus tissue, or the entire nasal or sinus region of the patient to the acoustic shock waves stimulating said tissue, wherein the tissue is positioned within a path of the emitted shock waves. The method of treatment may further have the steps of administering one or more medicaments prior, during or after subjecting the patient to acoustic shock waves or testing the bacterial count or viability of the treated tissue or region of the diagnosed patient after exposure to one or more acoustic shock wave treatments; or subjecting a tissue or organ to a surgical procedure to remove or repair some or all of any defects or degenerative tissues. The method of treatment is for prevention of infectious disease and may be used with debridement. The treatment is particularly useful in eradicating and inhibiting biofilm formations.

The method of treatment for a genital tissue or reproductive organ of an infertility or impotence diagnosed patient is disclosed. The treatment has the steps of activating an acoustic shock wave generator or source to emit acoustic shock waves; and subjecting the genital tissue, reproductive organ or the entire reproductive region of the body to the acoustic shock waves stimulating said tissue, organ or body wherein the tissue, organ or body is positioned within a path of the emitted shock waves. The emitted shock waves can be convergent, divergent, planar or near planar.

The invention discloses a transformer fault analysis system based on acoustic shock detection. The transformer fault analysis system comprises a data acquisition system and a data analysis system which are mutually connected, and is characterized in that the data acquisition system comprises an acoustic data acquisition module and a transformer parameter acquisition module, the acoustic data acquisition module comprises a sound intensity sensor, a vibration sensor and a sound sensor, the data analysis system comprises a clock system, a signal feature extraction and classification module and asignal recognition and fault diagnosis module, and the signal feature extraction and classification module and the signal recognition and fault diagnosis module are connected with the clock system; and the signal feature extraction and classification module comprises a feature extraction module and a feature database, the feature extraction module is connected with the data acquisition system, andthe signal recognition and fault diagnosis module operates on a microcomputer system. The transformer fault analysis system represents an automatic recognition and identification technology for the operating state of a transformer through acquiring acoustic signals of the transformer and performing state recognition and marking on the acoustic signals, and finally achieves fault analysis and diagnosis for the transformer.

A cellular telephone (100, 1300) comprises an earpiece speaker (234, 1312) and a loudspeaker (238, 1316) that share a common resonator (e.g., 1436). Sharing a common resonator allows the common resonator to be made large thereby improving bass response. Undesirable acoustic coupling through the common resonator is addressed by driving the earpiece speaker with a cancellation filtered version of the loudspeaker drive signal when the loudspeaker is driven.

Medical devices with novel spark gap electrode designs, able to control manually or automatically the electrodes gap are provided. These devices are used to generate a shock wave created by the rapid expansion and collapse of a plasma bubble that is formed between two spark gap electrodes placed in a special liquid medium, when a high differential voltage (kV) is applied to the electrodes. The resulting shock wave impacts a reflector to direct the energy into the body of an animal or a human toward the desired treatment location. This electro-hydraulic principle to create acoustic shock waves as a method of treatment is in use in the medical (lithotripsy, orthopedic use, wound treatment, burns, post-operative treatment, pain treatment, diagnosis, skin and organ transplantation supporting devices, arteriosclerosis treatment), cosmetic (treatment of scars and cellulite) and veterinary (treatment of musculoskeletal disorders) fields.

The method of stimulating a tissue of a subsurface organ is disclosed. The method has the steps of activating an acoustic shock wave generator or source to emit acoustic shock waves; and subjecting the tissue to the acoustic shock waves stimulating said tissue wherein the tissue is positioned within a path of the emitted shock waves and away from a geometric focal volume or point of the emitted shock waves. In one embodiment the emitted shock waves are divergent or near planar. In another embodiment the emitted shock waves are convergent having a geometric focal volume of point at a distance of at least X from the source, the method further comprising positioning the tissue at a distance less than the distance X from the source. The subsurface organ is a tissue having cells. The tissue is a part of the incretin system. The subsurface organ is preferably the pancreas of a diabetic or at risk diabetic patient. The treatment stimulates the pancreatic tissue by an analgesic effect on the nerves and a stimulation of the insulin producing islets.

A universal spark gap electrode with inner conductor formed as an elongate rod, an insulative sheath fit over the inner conductor, and an inner electrode tip soldered or brazed into the inner conductor. The inner conductor passes through an adapter and into an annular base with a spark gap cage and second electrode tip mounted thereon. The adapter is equipped with a molded annular jacket-type adapter mounted exteriorly thereon for engagement with the connecting receptacle of a lithotripsy machine. The annular base has a double-threaded collar that couples over the insulative sheath, and the adapter body screw-couples over the threaded collar of the annular base. This, the annular base, adapter body and insulative sheath are screw-coupled together in a coaxial configuration. Once the electrode is connected, the electrode tips generate a spark at the spark gap that vaporizes a small quantity of water, which creates an acoustic shock wave, which can be focused into the tissue of the patient and at a focal point corresponding to the position of a kidney stone or the like. A main advantage of the foregoing design is that the adapter can easily be substituted and replaced by an alternately-configured adapter to mate with other brands of lithotripters.

A mobile communication terminal interacts with a digital hearing aid and a wireless hearing aid uses the mobile communication terminal. When a user having the mobile communication terminal interworking with the digital hearing aid operates the hearing aid, an amplification function suitable for auditory characteristics of the user is performed. That is, when auditory information of the user is sent to the terminal, the terminal adjusts an amplification gain to prevent the acoustic shock by measuring an environmental signal. The terminal computes an environment profile by analyzing the measured environmental signal and auditory information of the user sent from the hearing aid and automatically adjusts a non-linear amplification level according to a user environment by sending the environment profile to the hearing aid.

The method of stimulating an organ comprises the steps of providing an at least partially exposed or direct access portal to an organ, activating an acoustic shock wave generator or source to emit acoustic shock waves; and subjecting the organ to the acoustic shock waves stimulating said organ wherein the organ is positioned within a non obstructed path of the emitted shock waves.

A method and device for treating wounds 10 of tissue 11 is disclosed. The method has the steps of applying a porous pad 12 upon the treatment surface of the tissue 11; covering the treatment surface and the porous pad 12 with a foil or sealing cover 14 for isolating the treatment surface and the porous pad 12 from the atmosphere; filling the volume under the foil or sealing cover 14 with fluid 100 and purging air from the volume under the foil or sealing cover 14 thereby fluid 100 saturating said porous pad 12: applying an acoustic shock wave treatment through the foil or sealing cover 14 or surrounding tissue 11 or a combination thereof sending acoustic shock waves 200 through the volume to the treatment surface and underlying tissue 11 and thereafter pulling a vacuum to create a sub-atmospheric pressure under the foil or sealing cover 14 wherein the combination of the applied acoustic shock waves 200 and sub-atmospheric conditions stimulates healing of the treatment surface and underlying tissue 11. Preferably the acoustic shock waves 200 are unfocused or a wide area focused shock wave pattern. More preferably the shock waves 200 are sufficiently low energy or amplitude to avoid the sensation of pain during the treatment process thereby eliminating the need for anesthesia or localized numbing of the treatment area.