8119 results about "Sonification" patented technology

An ultrasound power transmitter comprising a transmit ultrasonic transducer array has a plurality of transmit ultrasonic transducers. The ultrasound power transmitter activates a set of transmit ultrasonic transducers in close proximity of an electronic device to be arranged to beam ultrasound energy to the electronic device. Alignment magnets of the ultrasound power transmitter are aligned with corresponding alignment magnets of the electronic device to manage the ultrasound beaming. The ultrasound energy may be converted into electric power to charge the battery of the electronic device. Feedbacks may be provided by the electronic device to the ultrasound power transmitter to increase power transmission efficiency. The ultrasound power transmitter may pair the electronic device with other different electronic devices utilizing ultrasonic signals. A spacer with good ultrasound power transmission properties may be located between the ultrasound power transmitter and an ultrasound power receiver of an intended electronic device to enhance power transmission.

A system for the destruction of adipose tissue utilizing high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) within a patient's body. The system comprises a controller for data storage and the operation and control of a plurality of elements. One elements is a means for mapping a human body to establish three dimensional coordinate position data for existing adipose tissue. The controller is able to identify the plurality of adipose tissue locations on said human body and establish a protocol for the destruction of the adipose tissue. A HIFU transducer assembly having one or more piezoelectric element(s) is used along with at least one sensor wherein the sensor provides feed back information to the controller for the safe operation of the piezoelectric element(s). The sensor is electronically coupled to the controller, and the controller provides essential treatment command information to one or more piezoelectric element(s) based on positioning information obtained from the three dimensional coordinate position data.

Methods and devices that provide ultrasonic energy used to cause one or more nerves to become dysfunctional. A nerve to be treated is placed in the focal zone of ultrasonic energy emitted by ultrasound transducer. A first level of ultrasonic energy is provided to the nerve using the ultrasound transducer, the first level sufficient to stimulate the nerve. A verification is made that the desired nerve is being stimulated by the first level of ultrasonic energy. For example, the patient may be asked to confirm that the ultrasonically stimulated nerve corresponds to the pain that is affecting the patient. Subsequent to verifying the stimulated nerve is the nerve desired for the reduction of pain, a second level of ultrasonic energy is delivered to the nerve using the ultrasound transducer, the second level of ultrasonic energy sufficient to cause nerve dysfunction.

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) for an ultrasound system. The ultrasound system has operational modes and the GUI has corresponding icons, tabs, and menu items image and information fields. The User Interface (UI) provides several types of graphical elements with intelligent behavior, such as being context sensitive and adaptive, called active objects, for example, tabs, menus, icons, windows of user interaction and data display and an alphanumeric keyboard. In addition the UI may also be voice activated. The UI further provides for a touchscreen for direct selection of displayed active objects. In an embodiment, the UI is for a medical ultrasound handheld imaging instrument. The UI provides a limited set of hard and soft keys with adaptive functionality that can be used with only one hand and potentially with only one thumb.

An ultrasound transducer having multiple focal zones is described. In one embodiment there is an ultrasound transducer manufactured as a single piece but having two or more focal zones. In a second embodiment there is a transducer assembly combining a high frequency and low frequency transducer. In a third embodiment there is an interchangeable assembly allowing for different ultrasound transducers to be used based on procedural needs. Variations of each embodiment are also disclosed.

A method of treating tissue within a body includes directing an ultrasound transducer having a plurality of transducer elements towards target body tissue, and delivering ultrasound energy towards the target tissue from the transducer elements such that an energy intensity at the target tissue is at or above a prescribed treatment level, while an energy intensity at tissue to be protected in the ultrasound energy path of the transducer elements is at or below a prescribed safety level.

Therapy methods using pulsed cavitational ultrasound therapy can include the subprocesses of initiation, maintenance, therapy, and feedback of the histotripsy process, which involves the creation and maintenance of ensembles of microbubbles and the use of feedback in order to optimize the process based on observed spatial-temporal bubble cloud dynamics. The methods provide for the subdivision or erosion of tissue, liquification of tissue, and/or the enhanced delivery of therapeutic agents. Various feedback mechanisms allow variation of ultrasound parameters and provide control over the pulsed cavitational process, permitting the process to be tuned for a number of applications. Such applications can include specific tissue erosion, bulk tissue homogenization, and delivery of therapeutic agents across barriers.

A switched resonant power amplifier system for ultrasonic transducers is disclosed. The system includes an amplifier that receives and processes a driver output signal for generating a drive signal that is provided to an ultrasonic device for controlling output of the ultrasonic device. An output control circuit receives and processes a signal related to a feedback signal generated by the ultrasonic device and a divider reference signal, and generates a compensated clock signal that is adjusted for at least one of phase and frequency differences between the received feedback signal and the divider reference signal. A compensated drive circuit receives and processes the compensated clock signal for generating the divider reference signal, and for generating the driver output signal.

A wearable system with a gestural interface for wearing on, for instance, the wrist of a user. The system comprises an ultrasonic transceiver array structure and may comprise a pico projector display element for displaying an image on a surface. User anatomical feature inputs are received in the form of ultrasound signals representative of a spatio-temporal cross-section of the wrist of the user by articulating wrist, finger and hand postures, which articulations are translated into gestures. Inputs from inertial and other sensors are used by the system as part of the anatomical feature posture identification method and device. Gestures are recognized using a mathematically-modeled, simulation-based set of biological metrics of tissue objects, which gestures are converted to executable computer instructions. Embodiments of the system disclosed herein may also be used to monitor biometric and health data over computer networks or using onboard systems.

The present invention provides a novel technique designed to provide a front-end graphical user interface for voice interaction, displaying a list of voice commands that can be used within a control scope of a medical system and that change depending on where the user is in the system. The user is presented with a quick reference guide to available commands without being overwhelmed. “Contextual voice cues” (CVC) provide a non-intrusive dynamic list of available commands to the user which automatically pop-up and change depending on the screen or mode the user is in. An indicator, such as a feedback light, may show whether a voice command is accepted. The technique may be utilized with medical information and diagnostic systems such as picture archival communication systems (PACS), ultrasound modalities, and so forth. Implementation of the technique should increase clinician adoption rates of voice recognition control and thus advance improvements in clinician workflow.

Provided is a wireless power transmission apparatus. The apparatus includes an ultrasound transmitter generating an ultrasound signal in response to an external source voltage and transmitting the generated ultrasound signal to a medium layer and an ultrasound receiver receiving the ultrasound signal through the medium layer and converting the received ultrasound signal into a driving voltage. The ultrasound transmitter and receiver are manufactured to control impedance values thereof to be matched with each other and a distance between the ultrasound transmitter and receiver is controlled according to predetermined distance conditions.

Disclosed is an ultrasonic surgical device having a distally/proximally movable fluid management system consisting of single lumen or multiple lumens. The invention provides for the delivery of irrigation fluid or the removal of fluid, debris or vapor from the tissue-effecting portion of the blade while minimizing the loading on the blade. The blades of the surgical device, when excited at a natural blade system frequency, will have modal shapes characterized by longitudinal, transverse and/or torsional motion and will have nodal locations for these motions at positions along the tissue effecting length of the blade. The instrument is designed to allow for the fluid management system to be positioned at one or more motion nodes to facilitate efficient removal of tissue or fluid, which tends to accumulate at such nodes of the ultrasonic surgical blades.

Methods and apparatus for screening diverse arrays of materials are provided. In one aspect, systems and methods are provided for imaging a library of materials using ultrasonic imaging techniques. The system includes one or more devices for exciting an element of the library such that acoustic waves are propagated through, and from, the element. The acoustic waves propagated from the element are detected and processed to yield a visual image of the library element. The acoustic wave data can also be processed to obtain information about the elastic properties of the library element. In another aspect, systems and methods are provided for generating acoustic waves in a tank filled with a coupling liquid. The library of materials is then placed in the tank and the surface of the coupling liquid is scanned with a laser beam. The structure of the liquid surface disturbed by the acoustic wave is recorded, the recorded disturbance being representative of the physical structure of the library. In another aspect of the invention, a mechanical resonator is used to evaluate various properties (e.g., molecular weight, viscosity, specific weight, elasticity, dielectric constant, conductivity, etc.) of the individual liquid elements of a library of materials. The resonator is designed to ineffectively excite acoustic waves. The frequency response of the resonator is measured for the liquid element under test, preferably as a function of time. By calibrating the resonator to a set of standard liquids with known properties, the properties of the unknown liquid can be determined. An array of library elements can be characterized by a single scanning transducer or by using an array of transducers corresponding to the array of library elements. Alternatively, multiple resonators of differing design may be used to evaluate each element of a library of elements, thus providing improved dynamic range and sensitivity.

Implantable medical devices (IMDs) for monitoring signs of acute or chronic cardiac heart failure by measuring cardiac blood pressure and mechanical dimensions of the heart and providing multi-chamber pacing optimized as a function of measured blood pressure and dimensions are disclosed. The dimension sensor or sensors comprise at least a first sonomicrometer piezoelectric crystal mounted to a first lead body implanted into or in relation to one heart chamber that operates as an ultrasound transmitter when a drive signal is applied to it and at least one second sonomicrometer crystal mounted to a second lead body implanted into or in relation to a second heart chamber that operates as an ultrasound receiver. The ultrasound receiver converts impinging ultrasound energy transmitted from the ultrasound transmitter through blood and heart tissue into an electrical signal. The time delay between the generation of the transmitted ultrasound signal and the reception of the ultrasound wave varies as a function of distance between the ultrasound transmitter and receiver which in turn varies with contraction and expansion of a heart chamber between the first and second sonomicrometer crystals. One or more additional sonomicrometer piezoelectric crystal can be mounted to additional lead bodies such that the distances between the three or more sonomicrometer crystals can be determined. In each case, the sonomicrometer crystals are distributed about a heart chamber such that the distance between the separated ultrasound transmitter and receiver crystal pairs changes with contraction and relaxation of the heart chamber walls.

An image of an electro-anatomical map of a body structure having cyclical motion is overlaid on a 3D ultrasonic image of the structure. The electro-anatomical data and anatomic image data are synchronized by gating both electro-anatomical data acquisition and an anatomic image at a specific point in the motion cycle. Transfer of image data includes identification of a point in the motion cycle at which the 3-dimensional image was captured or is to be displayed.

The present invention relates to a microfluidic system for processing a cell-containing liquid. The system includes a lysing zone to receive the cell-containing sample and a positioning element to position the cell-containing sample in a lysing position in the vicinity of a lysing mechanism. The lysing mechanism releases intracellular material, such as DNA or RNA, from the cells. In one embodiment, the lysing mechanism includes electrodes for generating an electric field sufficient to release intracellular contents from the cells. Alternatively, the lysing mechanism may lyse the cells using chemical, heat and/or ultrasonic techniques or any combination of these techniques.

Imaging apparatus, is provided, comprising a first device, for obtaining a first image, by a first modality, selected from the group consisting of SPECT, PET, CT, an extracorporeal gamma scan, an extracorporeal beta scan, x-rays, an intracorporeal gamma scan, an intracorporeal beta scan, an intravascular gamma scan, an intravascular beta scan, and a combination thereof, and a second device, for obtaining a second, structural image, by a second modality, selected from the group consisting of a three-dimensional ultrasound, an MRI operative by an internal magnetic field, an extracorporeal ultrasound, an extracorporeal MRI operative by an external magnetic field, an intracorporeal ultrasound, an intracorporeal MRI operative by an external magnetic field, an intravascular ultrasound, and a combination thereof, and wherein the apparatus further includes a computerized system, configured to construct an attenuation map, for the first image, based on the second, structural image. Additionally, the computerized system is configured to display an attenuation-corrected first image as well as a superposition of the attenuation-corrected first image and the second, structural image. Furthermore, the apparatus is operative to guide an in-vivo instrument based on the superposition.

Interference in ultrasound imaging when used in connection with high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is avoided by employing a synchronization signal to control the HIFU signal. Unless the timing of the HIFU transducer is controlled, its output will substantially overwhelm the signal produced by ultrasound imaging system and obscure the image it produces. The synchronization signal employed to control the HIFU transducer is obtained without requiring modification of the ultrasound imaging system. Signals corresponding to scattered ultrasound imaging waves are collected using either the HIFU transducer or a dedicated receiver. A synchronization processor manipulates the scattered ultrasound imaging signals to achieve the synchronization signal, which is then used to control the HIFU bursts so as to substantially reduce or eliminate HIFU interference in the ultrasound image. The synchronization processor can alternatively be implemented using a computing device or an application-specific circuit.

A non-invasive visual imaging system is provided, wherein the imaging system procures an image of a transducer position during diagnostic or therapeutic treatment. In addition, the system suitably provides for the transducer to capture patient information, such as acoustic, temperature, or ultrasonic images. For example, an ultrasonic image captured by the transducer can be correlated, fused or otherwise combined with the corresponding positional transducer image, such that the corresponding images represent not only the location of the transducer with respect to the patient, but also the ultrasonic image of the region of interest being scanned. Further, a system is provided wherein the information relating to the transducer position on a single patient may be used to capture similar imaging planes on the same patient, or with subsequent patients. Moreover, the imaging information can be effectively utilized as a training tool for medical practitioners.

A system for wireless communication using ultrasonic signals that includes a transmission module, which receives input signals from a wireless device, modifies the received input signals in a manner that converts each received input signal into a corresponding ultrasonic signal and wirelessly transmits each said ultrasonic signal over an ultrasonic link, and a receiving module, which receives the transmitted ultrasonic signals, recovers the corresponding input signals therefrom and enables outputting each respective input signal through one or more output devices. Modification of the input signals may include compressing, encoding and modulating the input signals. The input signals may be voice audio signals for enabling to use the system for supporting phone calls by enabling ultrasonic communication between for instance, a wireless headset and a mobile phone. Transmission and receiving modules may be associated with a wireless headset and mobile phone for allowing ultrasonic and optionally RF communication therebetween.