• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
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  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    The object of this invention is a new ultrasound scanning device that works with intensities and frequencies in the range of clinical ultrasonic physiotherapy. The apparatus is multichannel and comprises an ultrasonic transducer that uses piezocomposites as piezoelectric elements. In addition, the invention comprises a method of obtaining and using the echographic images obtained by the apparatus to define the acoustic and energy parameters of the physiotherapy stage, detect temperature or structural changes in the area of interest and direct targeting to said zone the therapeutic dose. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)
    公开号:ES2540599A1
    申请号:ES201331799
    申请日:2013-12-10
    公开日:2015-07-10
    发明作者:Francisco Montero De Espinosa Freijo；Francisco CHINCHURRETA SEGOVIA；Luis Elvira Segura
    申请人:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas CSIC；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    DESCRIPTION

    System and method to apply focused physiotherapeutic ultrasound of low and medium intensity guided by ultrasound imaging in soft tissues.
    SECTOR OF THE TECHNIQUE AND OBJECT OF THE INVENTION 5
    The invention is framed in the field of therapeutic ultrasound systems and methods. It consists of a multichannel ultrasonic ultrasound scanning device comprising an ultrasonic transducer whose active element is a piezocomposite that works with intensities and frequencies in the range of clinical ultrasonic physiotherapy. Furthermore, the invention comprises a method of obtaining and using ultrasound images, obtained by the system object of the invention, to define the acoustic and energy parameters of the physiotherapy stage and to detect temperature or structural changes in the area of interest. analyzing in the frequency domain the ultrasound signals after the application of the physiotherapeutic dose.
    The invention allows to improve the electromechanical efficiency with a simple design and is a practical solution to make a two-dimensional array that can change the type of opening in the manufacturing process by changing only the design of the electrode, this solution is effective to design an array with ultrasound and physiotherapeutic capacity at these frequencies since, since the material is mechanically decoupled, complex acoustic openings with sufficient image resolution can be designed by implementing them with the sole fact of properly defining the electrode of the active part of the piezocomposite material. The device being multichannel and programmable, can focus at different depths, concentrate the energy in different volumes and apply physiotherapeutic doses according to clinical protocols of intensity and time, also makes ultrasound images with sufficient resolution to locate the area of interest and direct by focusing at said zone the therapeutic dose. The use of piezocomposites instead of single piezoceramic resonators also facilitates the possibility of using part of the opening of the ultrasonic transducer to make an image and a different one to sound without modifying anything other than the electrode of the same.
    STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE 30
    In soft tissue physiotherapy treatments, ultrasound is the most widely used technique together with magnetotherapy, shortwave and laser. Apart from its use in physiotherapy, it is also commonly used by the numerous therapists of other professional groups (for example, osteopaths and chiropractors). Different surveys conducted among physiotherapists in countries such as Australia or Great Britain show this reality [Therapeutic 35 ultrasound in soft tissue lesions, C. A Speed, Rheumatology, 2001, 40, 1331-1336.]. It is estimated that currently one million ultrasound physiotherapy treatments are carried out in Britain, 20% of all physiotherapy treatments in the National Health Service of the United Kingdom and 54% of all private physiotherapy treatments. There are 7,000 registered physiotherapists per 10 million inhabitants in the EU, almost all of them 40 using ultrasound as a physiotherapeutic method.
    In recent years, interest in clinical applications of ultrasound physiotherapy has increased. Although therapeutic ultrasonic radiation has been used for more than 50 years in physiotherapy, its use in the clinical setting has changed significantly in this period. The application of ultrasound was initially associated with its ability to produce an increase in tissue temperature, therefore seeking benefits associated with this selective heating. There is currently great interest in its "non-thermal" effects, especially in relation to tissue repair and wound healing. So, for example, it has
    demonstrated that at low intensities (less than 30 mW / cm2 - 300W / m2), pulsed ultrasound accelerates bone fracture repair. The mechanism of action is still unclear, but it is thought to be of no thermal origin [Low intensity pulsed ultrasound for fracture healing: A review of the clinical evidence and the associated biological mechanism of action Neill M. Pounder, Andrew J. Harrison Ultrasonics 48 (2008) 330–338]. 5
    At intermediate acoustic intensities - from 0.1 to 3 W / cm2, (1000 to 30000 W / m2) the thermal and other so-called "physical" effects coexist. On the one hand, with this intensity temperature rises of up to 3 ° C can occur and, on the other, it is known that effects such as cavitation appear that help interact with the cell membrane to improve the transport of drugs or genetic material [Sonodynamic therapy Katsuro Tachibana, Loreto B. Feril 10 Jr., Yurika Ikeda-Dantsuji, Ultrasonics 48 (2008) 253-259].
    Unfortunately, while numerous positive effects of ultrasound have been demonstrated in in vitro studies, the clinical translation of this technique has not achieved the expected results. Despite so many years of clinical use of ultrasound, the results of the different studies carried out and published of the review of controlled clinical trials 15 on the efficacy of ultrasound for the treatment of people with pain, with musculoskeletal injuries and other lesions of Soft tissues show that its effectiveness remains questionable. Still, after so many years, it is unknown if there is a dose-response relationship.
    The physiotherapy devices used today consist essentially of a high frequency pulsed or continuous electric generator and a single element ultrasonic transducer that is applied to the body through a coupling gel. These transducers produce a radiation profile whose intensity has a well-known distribution under free field conditions for both the continuous and pulsed wave cases that essentially corresponds to the acoustic intensity distribution of a circular piston 25. In the near field, which is the area of interest, the radiation presents a pattern with relative maximum and minimum values of intensity distributed in the soundproofing volume. This means that the irradiation is not homogeneous if transducers with a modified aperture with an external lens or with a geometry formed by a number of independent elements distributed on a geometrically focusing surface are not used. 30
    These ultrasonic systems are subject to the international measurement standard IEC 61689, the only one that exists specifically for ultrasonic physiotherapy equipment. In this standard, the physical quantities of interest and the procedures for measuring and verifying the levels allowed for clinical use are listed. In the aforementioned standard, various soundproofing configurations are contemplated - collimated, focused or divergent - and the acoustic beam parameters useful for knowing energy levels and their homogeneity and distribution in the volume of interest of the soundproofed body.
    The situation is much more complicated in the case of real practice, where the radiation applied to the surface of the body has to pass through different tissues with complicated geometries before being located in the desired volume. Therefore, in the majority of cases, it is practically impossible to know the intensity and distribution of the acoustic energy that actually reaches the area of interest.
    The lack of an exact knowledge of the energy finally applied in the area of interest makes it impossible to determine the dose-response curves to define robust and individualized treatments. The treatment planning, as it exists now, is based on the experience of each physiotherapist taking into account experimental data of doses obtained in conditions that have nothing to do with the actual clinics. Consequently, most ultrasound physiotherapy treatments are essentially empirical and when the
    Patient pain disappears or inflammation decreases after an ultrasound physiotherapy treatment, there is no scientific evidence of the relationship of improvement with treatment.
    It is very convenient to develop a multichannel and programmable system capable of, with a single flat surface transducer, directly applying to the body as is usually done in physiotherapy, locating the area of interest by image and applying the recommended ultrasonic energy in it in preclinical trials, obtaining after treatment information on the effects produced through the frequency analysis of ultrasound signals.
    The development of therapeutic applications of ultrasound in the energy range of more than 10 3W / cm2 (30000 W / m2), HIFU (High Intensity Focused Ultrasound, has brought up a large number of patents and commercial equipment that in some cases could be used in the low energy range for physiotherapy applications [US 6,428,477 B1 and US 2011/0144545 A1]. Such systems are of great complexity both for the design of the ultrasonic transduction systems that are normally formed by two transducers when desired. also make acoustic image, as per the requirements of electrical power to reach the intensity of surgical utility that is capable of raising the temperature in human tissues to ablation levels of 60 ° C. These destructive levels are so critical that even image is used by MRI to guide the application of HIFU soundproofing - ExAblate® 2000 Sightec Ltd (November 2, 2 013 20 http://www.insightec.com/ExAblate-Operation-Room-Future.html). On the other hand, there is currently no system with a single transducer capable of performing low frequency imaging and physiotherapy - less than 0.5 MHz - or high - greater than 5 MHz. In the first case, the size of a multi-element array transducer for physiotherapy and its maximum axial and lateral resolution at frequencies below 0.5 MHz make its potential to obtain 25 images useless. For frequencies greater than 5 MHz, the ultrasound image can only be used for lesions or structures located a few centimeters from the skin and, in addition, the attenuation of the signal makes it difficult to reach the therapeutic dose at these depths without altering the previous tissue.
    Piezocomposites are piezoelectric materials that have different characteristics, they are composed of at least two phases: an active one that is a piezoelectric ceramic and another passive one that is usually a polymer. In the simplest biphasic case, there is a wide variety of structures that are defined using the concept of connectivity in the Cartesian directions. Thus, a piezocomposite formed by piezoceramic bars in one direction surrounded by a polymeric matrix, is of the type 1-3 since the piezoceramic material is connected only in one direction while the matrix is connected in the three Cartesian directions. The piezoceramic material must be suitable for power applications with low mechanical and electrical losses. The matrix should preferably be mechanically insulating.
    EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION
    An aspect of the invention is a multichannel ultrasonic ultrasound scanning apparatus comprising an ultrasonic transducer characterized in that it has an active element a piezocomposite.
    The device can generate acoustic intensity with levels up to 3 W / cm2 (30000W / m23 W / cm2) and in a frequency range between 0.5 MHz and 5 MHz, comprising up to 64 active elements with a piezocomposite type 1-3, with a surface area of flat emission. Preferably the piezocomposite is manufactured from a piezoelectric material type PZT4 45
    The apparatus may comprise a transducer temperature control apparatus.
    Another aspect of the invention is an ultrasonic method that uses the apparatus of the
    invention comprising the following steps:
    a) location of the area of interest,
    b) calculation of the depth to which the dose should be applied,
    c) programming of the signal parameters including the amplitude, number of cycles and delay of each channel depending on the type of focus and the diameter of the transducer, 5
    d) connection of the power electronics in which during the programmed time it will focus the therapeutic acoustic energy in the area previously located.

    Additionally the procedure may comprise the following steps
    e) generation of electrical signals with specific patterns to increase the frequency band 10 in emission up to 50% of the center frequency,
    f) obtaining a sectorial image of the area of interest with 2D and / or 3D formation,
    g) switching of the image electronics with the power electronics to apply the therapeutic dose in the visualized area,
    h) array excitation with an electrical signal with a fixed delay law to focus 15 to a maximum depth of D2 / 4λ where λ  is the inverse of the frequency used and D the diameter of the array,
    i) switching of power electronics to image electronics to visualize the area of interest,
     twenty
    The transducer can be excited with a signal that includes counter-phase cycles and a frequency analysis of the ultrasound signals of the echoes that pass through the soundproofed tissue can be performed.
    Another aspect of the invention is the use of the apparatus for therapy and / or diagnosis including musculoskeletal injuries, the study and modification of stress in the cell membrane, in thrombi in blood vessels or biofilms formed in prostheses or for the acceleration of the fracture soldier Bones in their early stages of healing.
    DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
    An aspect of the present invention is a multichannel ultrasonic scanning apparatus comprising an ultrasonic transducer whose active element is a piezocomposite.
    The transducer preferably generates acoustic intensities with levels up to 3 W / cm2 and in a frequency range between 0.5 MHz and 5 MHz.
    In the present invention piezocomposites, instead of single piezoceramic resonators, are introduced into an ultrasonic transducer for use in medical physiotherapy applications. This allows to improve the electromechanical efficiency and is a practical solution to make a two-dimensional array that can change the type of opening in the manufacturing process by changing only the design of the electrode responding all the elements of the array at the same frequency regardless of their lateral dimensions. On the other hand and as important as the above, the array elements based on a piezocomposite are mechanically isolated from each other, which makes the opening designed with the electrode faithfully reproduced as an acoustic opening. The device being multichannel and programmable, can focus at different depths, concentrate the energy in different volumes and apply physiotherapeutic doses according to clinical protocols of intensity and time, also allows ultrasound imaging with sufficient resolution to locate the area of interest and direct by targeting said area the therapeutic dose.
    The use of piezocomposites instead of piezoceramics is an effective solution to be able to design an array with ultrasound and physiotherapeutic capacity at these frequencies since being
    the mechanically decoupled material can be designed complex acoustic openings with sufficient image resolution by implementing them simply by properly defining the electrode of the active part of the piezocomposite material. It also facilitates the possibility of using part of the opening of the ultrasonic transducer to make an image and a different one to soundproof without modifying anything other than the electrode of the same.
    The proposed apparatus consists of two subsystems: ultrasonic transducer and control electronics.
    The ultrasonic transducer is an array transducer with a number of equal active monoelements and with a specific geometry in each case - manufactured based on a piezocomposite shown in Figure 1. The acoustic opening of the ultrasonic transducer is configured by means of an electrode (1) that is placed glued on the surface of the piezocomposite (3). The number of active elements of the array, monoelements (2), with a minimum of eight, depends on the frequency of the ultrasound to be used, the maximum acoustic intensity to be used and the resolution of the image. The frequency is related to the thickness of the piezocomposite (3). The array has an emission surface and therefore flat application. 15 The size and number of monoelements (2) as well as the diameter together with the frequency define the resolution of the images both in depth and laterally. In the range of acoustic intensity and frequency of this invention, the number of monoelements (2) for an opening of less than 30 mm in diameter may be equal to or less than 64. The transducer, figure 2, is manufactured with a piezoceramic type hard (type PZT4), conformed 20 as composite 1-3 with a foam matrix with good thermal conduction characteristics of density less than 500kgr / m3, resistant to temperatures below 70 degrees Celsius, which mechanically isolates the monoelements of the composite. The piezocomposite (3) is glued on a casing of metallic material (4) whose function is to create a transmission line between the piezocomposite (3) and the human body through the coupling gel layer 25, also constituting the electrical ground point necessary for the application of the electrical signal to the piezocomposite (3) for the ultrasound to be generated. It also protects the human body from possible drifts of the system's electrical voltage and helps dissipate the heat that accumulates in the piezcomposite (3). Depending on the thickness of that housing (4), the transducer can be effective for working on a main frequency and a first harmonic. Figure 3 shows the relationship of the thickness of the housing with the module of the Emission Transfer Function (FTE) for the particular case of a 1 MHz ultrasonic transducer with an aluminum housing. In Figure 3 it can be seen how the same transducer can work in some circumstances from frequencies below the fundamental mode of 1 MHz to frequencies close to 5 MHz depending on the thickness of the housing. Additionally, a thermocouple can be installed in the transducer to transmit its temperature, being able to interrupt the power supply and therefore the treatment when a programmed temperature is exceeded.
    The electrical connections of the monoelements are carried to a connection plate (5) mechanically isolated from the piezocomposite (3) to the multi-connector type UHF (6) with connecting cables 40 (7). On the piezocomposite (3) a thermocouple (8) is adhered, whose connection is taken to the bayonet multi-connector where the thermocouple connectors (9) and the array elements (10) are located. The transducer can be encapsulated in an ergonomic manipulator (11) in a material compatible with clinical practice- Figure 4- that facilitates its manipulation by physiotherapists, from which the multipair cable to the electronics 45 (12).
    Each element of the array is physically configured by adhering the printed circuit with this geometry on the surface of the piezocomposite (3).
    The subsystem that includes the control electronics has two versions. The simplest for
    application of focused and programmable physiotherapy (physiotherapy mode) and the most complete capable of acoustic imaging and physiotherapy (double version or image mode). In the simplest version, another aspect of the invention is an ultrasonic method using the apparatus of the invention comprising the following steps:
    a) location of the area of interest, 5
    b) calculation of the depth to which the dose should be applied,
    c) programming of the signal parameters including the amplitude, number of cycles and delay of each channel depending on the type of focus and the diameter of the transducer,
    d) connection of the power electronics in which during the programmed time it will focus the therapeutic acoustic energy in the previously chosen area 10
    The electronic subsystem of the physiotherapy version consists of a digital control stage (13), a set of pulsed electrical signal generators (14) and a programmable power supply (15), figure 5. The digital control stage, which communicates with the software hosted on the computer (16) through a specific interface, has the function of controlling the pulsed electrical signal generators (14) and the programmable power supply 15 (15). The software calculates the focal law and the delays to be sent to the generators (14) for the application of physiotherapy according to the type of focus chosen, the depth (17) at which the area of the body is to be soundproofed (18) , the frequency and acoustic intensity chosen in this case. The signals of the generators (14) are programmed - including number and position of the monoelements of the array (19), frequency, amplitude of the electrical signal and 20 cycle number, and the time of physiotherapy application. The operator then gives the start switch on the user interface.
    The transducer, due to its array configuration and the piezocomposite material used, can efficiently focus from distances as short as 10 mm with focus widths from 1 mm.
    In the case of the double version, Figure 6, in which the system generates ultrasound images and applies physiotherapy, another aspect of the invention constitutes the method of the invention that additionally comprises the following steps.
    e) generation of electrical signals with specific patterns to increase the frequency band in emission up to 50% of the center frequency,
    f) obtaining a sectorial image of the area of interest with 2D and / or 3D formation, 30
    g) switching of the image electronics with the power electronics to apply the therapeutic dose,
    h) array excitation with an electrical signal with a fixed delay law to focus up to a maximum depth of D2 / 4λ 4 where λ is the inverse of the frequency used and D the diameter of the array, 35
    i) switching of power electronics to image electronics to visualize the area of interest,
    The excitation signal can be square pulses.
    After the last step, a frequency analysis of the echographic signals of the echoes that pass through the soundproofed tissue can be performed. 40
    In this case, the electronic subsystem has a typical ultrasound configuration with a sector scan to which the electronic version of the simple version or physiotherapy mode is added. When the area in which the physiotherapy is to be applied has been visualized, the system is used in image configuration, to calculate the depth to which it must be applied and then the signal parameters are programmed - amplitude, number of cycles and delay of each channel - 45 to move to the physiotherapy configuration in which during the programmed time the therapeutic acoustic energy will be focused on the previously visualized area.
    Specific software for configuring the image parameters (21) is hosted on the computer. The digital control stage (20), which communicates with the software (21) through a specific interface, has as a function in addition to the control of the pulsed electrical signal generators (22) and the programmable power supply (31 ) for the physiotherapy treatment part, the control of the image formation process. First, the configuration of the signal generators (22) is programmed - number and position of the monoelements of the array (23), frequency, amplitude of the electrical signal and number of cycles- and the power supply of the signals is switched to low voltage (24). When using the system a narrow band transducer, the electrical excitation signal for image formation or for the frequency treatment of the received echoes cannot be of the 10-square-wave pulsed type as usual but must be synthesized according to a pattern that shortens the temporal response of the emitting transducer, increasing the frequency band of the Emission Transfer Function. The design of such a pattern, with a sequence that includes counter-cycle cycles must be adapted to each type of array and to the frequency and depth parameters of each case. Next, the type of scan is programmed including: number of elements, type of focus, scan angle in the case of sector scan, image depth and scan frequency. For the formation of the image (25) the echoes received by the array elements are amplified in the signal amplifiers (26), digitized (27) When the area in which physiotherapy is to be applied has been visualized, added according to the type of targeting programmed (28) and subsequently treated. The position (30) of the area of the body (29) to be treated is located on the image (25). Located in the area, the system is ready to proceed to the application of physiotherapy. The type of focus, frequency, acoustic intensity and application time for each case are chosen. The software (21) then programs the number and position of the monoelements of the array (23), the delays the signals of the generators (22) - frequency, amplitude and number of cycles the power supply of the signals is switched to high voltage (31) and the treatment is started. When the system is transferred to physiotherapy mode, the part of the image formation that is activated when the physiotherapy application ends is completely decoupled. During the application of physiotherapy, the transducer must remain in the same position with respect to the area to be irradiated, so it must be mounted in a structure adapted to the external shape of that part of the body. 30
    The apparatus and procedure that are proposed for the application of ultrasound focused on physiotherapy and the obtaining of acoustic images of the treatment area, are suitable for treatments of both thermal type and those grouped under the concept of non-thermal. (The Resurgence of Therapeutic Ultrasound - A 21st Century Phenomenon, Ultrasonics 48 (2008) 233) -. This is due to the proposed frequency and power ranges, the fact that 35 uses a pulsed wave of programmable amplitude and number of cycles and, fundamentally, its ability to concentrate the acoustic intensity in any part of the volume under treatment while not shielded by reflective elements of the anatomy. Thus, another aspect of the invention is the use of the system for the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal injuries, the application of stress or other stimuli that produce modifications in the cell membrane, acceleration of the soldier of bone fractures in their early stages of healing, thrombi in blood vessels or biofilms formed in prostheses, when the area to be treated is not shielded by reflective structures such as bones or gaseous cavities.
    DESCRIPTION FIGURES: 45
    Figure 1. Piezocomposite in the case of a 64 monoelements design.
    Figure 2. Ultrasonic transducer with eight monoelements with circular symmetry.
    Figure 3. Simulation of the Relative Emission Transfer Function - gray level - of the array between 0 and 5 MHz as a function of the thickness of the aluminum adaptation layer between 0 and 2
    mm
    Figure 4. Ultrasonic transducer encapsulated in physiotherapy head showing the multipair cable
    Figure 5. System diagram in simple version: application of focused and programmable physiotherapy. 5
    Figure 6. System diagram in the dual version: ultrasound imaging and physiotherapy.
    Figure 7.- Active array opening in its configuration of 8 concentric rings of the same area.
    Figure 8.- Emission Transfer Function Module of the array of 8 elements between 0 and 5 MHz, in relative units.
    Figure 9.- A - Simulation of the distribution of the acoustic pressure field of the array of 8 10 elements focused on water at 50 mm at 1 MHz. B - Distribution in the plane perpendicular to the propagation at the focal distance in relative units. C - The distribution of the pressure field along the propagation axis in relative units. D - Comparison with non-focused array distribution.
    Figure 10.- A - Simulation of the distribution of the acoustic pressure field of the array of 8 15 elements focused on water at 50 mm to 3 MHz. B - Distribution in the plane perpendicular to the propagation at the focal distance in relative units. C - Distribution of the pressure field along the propagation axis in relative units. D - Comparison with non-focused array distribution.
    Figure 11.- A- Measurement of the distribution of the acoustic pressure field of an array prototype 20 of 8 elements without applying delays and therefore without focusing with a frequency of 0.8 MHz. Measured surface, 100x60 mm2. B- Distribution in the plane perpendicular to the 50 mm propagation in relative units. C- Measurement of the acoustic pressure field distribution focusing on water at 50 mm. D- Distribution in the plane perpendicular to the focal length propagation in relative units. 25
    EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
    As an example of the invention there is shown a specific case of operation of the simple stage, physiotherapy mode, common to the two versions of the apparatus using a single transducer,
    An eight-element 1 MHz array transducer has been used. The active opening of array 30 is 30 mm circular. The elements are coaxial, figure 7. The piezoelectric material is a hard-type ceramic disk - Pz26, Ferroperm that has been mechanically modified to convert it into a piezocomposite of geometry 1-3. The array has a module of the Emission Transfer Function, figure 8, typical that corresponds to that of a piezoelectric resonator adapted to an aqueous medium with a quarter-wave metal resonator 35 and without back attenuation section.
    A programmable pulsed signal generator has been used with the following characteristics:
    -Eight physical channels. Programmable negative square half-wave pulses with amplitude range between -20V and -400V.
    -Maximum signal length: 256 half cycles. 40
    -Maximum repetition frequency: 20 kHz.
    -Minimum frequency of excitation of the transducers: 250 kHz.
    In the user interface you can choose the frequency, the number of channels, the depth and type of the focus, the maximum acoustic intensity in the focused volume and the application time. The simulation of the acoustic pressure distribution in the case of a spherical focus 50 mm from the surface of the array in aqueous medium can be seen in Figure 9A in which said distribution (32) is compared with that of a transducer with a single element with the same effective radiation area (33), figure 8D. An amplitude modulated 20 cycle signal with a Hanning window is used. It can be seen that in the case of 1MHz, the acoustic pressure up to -6 dB is confined in a volume of 5x5x50 mm3 (34) (35) - figures 9B and 9C- while the pressure range in the non-focused case occupies the entire volume with a typical distribution of 10 relative highs and lows. In addition, the relative maximum at the point of greatest intensity in the focused case is five times greater than the highest of the non-focused case maximum, which allows the generator's electrical signal to be lowered to one fifth for the same dose of acoustic intensity . Since the power is proportional to the square of the pressure, this leads us to conclude that with the same voltage applied to the ultrasonic transducer, with the focusing, a twenty five times greater energy efficiency is achieved for this geometry, transducer size and focus distance
    If the field distribution produced by this same array is simulated at the same focal length but emitting a signal with the same number of cycles but 3 MHz (36) - figure 10A - it is appreciated that the focused signal is now confined in a 2x2x15 volume 20 mm3 (38) (39), figures 10B and 10C while the non-focused transducer (37) - figure 10D - has the pressure distributed similarly to the case of 1 MHz with relative maximums and minimums. The maximum acoustic pressure in the focus is also of the order of five times greater than that of the highest relative maximum in the non-focused case.
    Figure 11 shows the measurement of the field distribution of an array prototype such as the one described above, of 0.8 MHz of band center (40). The measurement is carried out in a water tank, placing the array on the surface of the water and performing a 3D scan with a needle hydrophone - DAPCO - by means of a system of movements in the three Cartesian axes with 0.1mm precision. The excitation is done with a SITAU LF - DASEL- multichannel system, programming the delays of the different focal distances by means of a software application made in LabView. The measure in the case where no delay law is used - Figure 11A and Figure 11B - and therefore the eight elements emit in phase, shows the behavior predicted in Figure 9D. In the case of a law of delays to focus at 50 mm - figure 11C and figure 11D - the beam appears focused at that distance with a beam width at half the band similar to that simulated in figure 9B. A system such as that described 35 is operative to soundproof in a focused manner and obtain images up to depths not exceeding 100 mm in the case of 1 MHz and 250 mm for frequencies greater than 3 MHz.
    权利要求:
    Claims (12)
    [1]
    1. Multichannel ultrasonic ultrasound scanning apparatus comprising an ultrasonic transducer characterized in that it has an active element a piezocomposite.
    [2]
    2. Apparatus according to claim 1 generating acoustic intensities with levels up to 3 W / cm2 (30000W / m23 W / cm2) - and in frequency range - between 0.5 MHz and 5 MHz.
    [3]
    3. Apparatus according to claims 1 to 2 wherein the ultrasonic transducer comprises up to 64 active elements with a type 1-3 piezocomposite, with a flat emission surface.
    [4]
    4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the piezocomposite is manufactured from a piezoelectric material type PZT4
    [5]
    5. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 4 comprising a transducer temperature control apparatus 10.
    [6]
    6. Ultrasonic method using an apparatus as defined is claims 1 to 5 comprising the following steps:
    a) location of the area of interest,
    b) calculation of the depth to which the dose should be applied, 15
    c) programming of the signal parameters including the amplitude, number of cycles and delay of each channel depending on the type of focus and the diameter of the transducer,
    d) connection of the power electronics in which during the programmed time it will focus the therapeutic acoustic energy in the previously located area 20.
    7 Method according to claim 6 further comprising the following steps
     25
    e) generation of electrical signals with specific patterns to increase the frequency band in emission up to 50% of the center frequency,
    f) obtaining a sectorial image of the area of interest with 2D and / or 3D formation,
    g) switching of the image electronics with the power electronics to apply the therapeutic dose in the visualized area,
    h) array excitation with an electrical signal with a fixed delay law to focus up to a maximum depth of D2 / 4 where  is the inverse of the frequency used and D the diameter of the array,
    i) switching of the power electronics to the image electronics to visualize the area of interest,

    [8]
    8. The method according to claim 7 wherein the transducer is excited with a signal that includes counter phase cycles.
     40
    [9]
    9. Any method of claims 6 to 8 in which a frequency analysis of the ultrasound signals of the echoes that pass through the soundproofed tissue is performed.
    [10]
    10. Use of the apparatus by the method of claims 6 to 9 for therapy and / or diagnosis.
    [11]
    11. Use according to claim 10 in musculoskeletal injuries. Four. Five
    [12]
    12. Use according to claim 10 for the study and modification of stress in the
    cellular membrane.
    [13]
    13. Use according to claim 10 for the acceleration of the bone fracture soldier in its first stages of healing.
    Use according to claim 10 in thrombi in blood vessels or biofilms formed in prostheses. 5
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    同族专利:
    公开号 | 公开日
    WO2015086878A1|2015-06-18|
    ES2540599B1|2016-05-04|
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    ES201331799A|ES2540599B1|2013-12-10|2013-12-10|SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR APPLYING FOCALIZED PHYSIOTHERAPEUTIC ULTRASOUNDS OF LOW AND MEDIUM INTENSITY GUIDED BY ECOGRAPHIC IMAGE ON SOFT TISSUES|ES201331799A| ES2540599B1|2013-12-10|2013-12-10|SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR APPLYING FOCALIZED PHYSIOTHERAPEUTIC ULTRASOUNDS OF LOW AND MEDIUM INTENSITY GUIDED BY ECOGRAPHIC IMAGE ON SOFT TISSUES|
    PCT/ES2014/070906| WO2015086878A1|2013-12-10|2014-12-10|Apparatus and method for applying focused physiotherapeutic ultrasounds of low and medium intensity guided by echographic image in soft tissues|
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