Ultrasonic Transducer Surface Modulation for Energy Homogenization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ultrasonic transducer systems fail to homogenize energy contributions over a target zone due to varying acoustic attenuations and focal effects, leading to inefficient tissue lesions in therapeutic treatments.
Innovation Solution
The method involves activating ultrasonic transducer elements with non-identical emission surfaces to compensate for focal and acoustic attenuations, ensuring substantially identical energy contributions across the target zone by assigning surface weight factors based on attenuation and focal effects, and configuring transducer elements to adapt to different acoustic mediums.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If transducer elements have identical emission surfaces, then device complexity is reduced and manufacturing is simplified, but energy contributions become non-uniform due to varying acoustic attenuations and focal effects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different emission surface areas to different transducer elements based on their specific positions and the acoustic properties of the propagation medium. Each transducer element's emission surface is locally optimized to compensate for position-dependent acoustic attenuations and focal effects, ensuring uniform energy contributions across the focal zone while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through systematic design rules.
2Manufacturing precision
If transducer elements have different emission surfaces to compensate for acoustic heterogeneity, then energy contributions are homogenized, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements parameter changes by systematically varying the emission surface area parameter of different transducer elements according to calculated compensation factors. These factors are derived from the acoustic attenuation coefficients and focal geometry, allowing the system to achieve uniform energy distribution by adjusting a single key parameter (emission surface area) while maintaining other design parameters within standard ranges.
3Power
If control circuit operates at maximum capacity to compensate for attenuation, then power delivery is optimized for one transducer element, but other transducer elements cannot operate at their designed maximum power
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this power distribution issue by applying local quality to the emission surface areas of transducer elements. Elements experiencing higher acoustic attenuation are assigned larger emission surfaces, allowing them to deliver equivalent energy to the focal zone as elements with lower attenuation. This enables all transducer elements to operate at their designed maximum power simultaneously, fully utilizing the control circuit's power capacity without one element limiting the others.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for the rebalancing of energy contributions, maximizing available power and achieving uniform pressure distribution in the target zone, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of tissue lesions created by focused ultrasonic waves.
Implementation Method 1
an ultrasonic probe formed by a plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements, suitable for emitting high intensity focused ultrasounds (HIFU)
Implementation Method 2
create biological lesions in tissue resulting from a combination of the thermal effects and the acoustic cavitation activity
Implementation Method 3
create biological lesions in tissue resulting from a combination of the thermal effects and the acoustic cavitation activity
Implementation Method 4
after the emission in the propagation mediums, a focal effect is observed due to the concavity of the emission surface. The ultrasonic waves will concentrate on the focal zone (point or crown), leading to a gradual increase in the pressure along the path of the ultrasonic wave
Implementation Method 5
these different mediums have different acoustic attenuation characteristics. Thus, for each of the traveled paths, an attenuation of the sonic waves appears that depends on the distance traveled in each of the crossed mediums
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for generating ultrasonic waves focused on a focal zone (5) in order to carry out biological lesions, comprising the activation of a plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements (3).According to the invention:a target zone, in which homogenization of the supply of energy of the ultrasonic waves emitted by the ultrasonic transducer elements is desired, is chosen,the focusing effect and the acoustic attenuations of the ultrasonic waves on their path between the target zone and the ultrasonic transducer elements (3) are determined,the focusing effect and the acoustic attenuations of the ultrasonic waves are compensated, with ultrasonic transducer elements (3) at least some of which have non-identical emission surfaces such that in the target zone, the supply of energy of the ultrasonic waves emitted by the different ultrasonic transducer elements (3) is more or less identical.