28 patents
Utility
Focused ultrasound system with optimized monitoring of cavitation
16 Jan 24
Various approaches for generating an ultrasound focus at a target region and receiving signals therefrom using an ultrasound transducer having multiple transducer elements include acquiring multiple images of the target region and one or more path zones located on beam paths between the transducer elements and the target region; determining one or more tissue characteristics associated with the target region based on the acquired images; determining multiple profile parameters associated with each of the transducer elements based at least in part on the determined tissue characteristic; based at least in part on the profile parameters, operating at least first ones of the transducer elements to collectively transmit an ultrasound beam to the target region so as to create a focus thereon with desired properties; and based at least in part on the profile parameters, operating at least second ones of the transducer elements to receive acoustic signals from the target region and, in response thereto, adjusting operation of the at least first ones of the transducer elements to thereby improve the focus at the target region.
Kobi Vortman, Rafi De Picciotto
Filed: 4 Jun 19
Utility
Frequency optimization in ultrasound treatment
16 Jan 24
A system and method for selecting a patient-specific frequency for ultrasound therapy of a target within the patient are provided.
Kobi Vortman, Shuki Vitek, Eyal Zadicario
Filed: 24 Aug 18
Utility
Simulation-based drug treatment planning
2 Jan 24
Various approaches for computationally generating a protocol for treatment of one or more target BBB regions within a tissue region of interest using a source of focused ultrasound include specifying (i) settings of sonication parameters for applying one or more sequence of sonications to the target BBB region using the source of focused ultrasound and (ii) a characteristic of microbubbles selected to be administered into the target BBB region; electronically simulating treatment in accordance with the protocol at least in part by computationally executing the sequence(s) of sonications and computationally administering the microbubbles having the characteristic; and computationally predicting a tissue disruption effect of the target BBB region resulting from the treatment.
Yoav Levy, Rafi De Picciotto, Javier Grinfeld, Eyal Zadicario
Filed: 29 Jun 18
Utility
Adaptive, closed-loop ultrasound therapy
7 Nov 23
Various approaches to focusing an ultrasound transducer includes causing the ultrasound transducer to transmit ultrasound waves to the target region; causing the detection system to indirectly measure the focusing properties; and based at least in part on the indirectly measured focusing properties, adjusting a parameter value associated with at least one of the transducer elements so as to achieve a target treatment power at the target region.
Kobi Vortman, Yoav Levy, Oleg Prus, Shuki Vitek
Filed: 5 Dec 18
Utility
Systems and methods for regulating microbubbles in ultrasound procedures
22 Aug 23
Various approaches for regulating microbubbles in a treatment procedure for a target include generating a tissue-sensitivity map including multiple regions, at least one of the regions being outside the target region, the tissue-sensitivity map assigning, to each of the regions, a sensitivity level indicative of tissue sensitivity to the interaction between the microbubbles and an acoustic beam; select one or more interaction regions based at least in part on the tissue-sensitivity map; and activating the ultrasound transducer so as to generate the acoustic beam for interacting with the microbubbles in the selection interaction region(s) in the tissue-sensitivity map, thereby indirectly changing a characteristic of the microbubbles at the target region.
Yoav Levy
Filed: 9 Apr 19
Utility
Optimization of transducer configurations in ultrasound procedures
27 Jun 23
Various approaches to delivering ultrasound energy to a target region include an ultrasound transducer having multiple transducer elements for generating a focal zone of acoustic energy at the target region, wherein one or more transducer elements are partitioned into multiple contiguous sub-regions having a common directionality; one or more driver circuits connected to the transducer element(s); a switch matrix having multiple switches for switchably connecting the sub-regions to the driver circuit(s), each of the sub-regions being associated with one of the switches; and a controller configured to (i) determine an optimal sonication frequency for maximizing a peak acoustic intensity in the focal zone; and (ii) based at least in part on the determined optimal sonication frequency, activate one or more switches in the switch matrix for causing the corresponding sub-region(s) to transmit ultrasound pulses to the target region.
Kobi Vortman, Yoav Levy, Shahar Rinott
Filed: 27 Dec 18
Utility
Systems and methods for registering images obtained using various imaging modalities and verifying image registration
13 Dec 22
Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods to detect a moving anatomic feature during a treatment sequence based on a computed and/or a measured shortest distance between the anatomic feature and at least a portion of an imaging system.
Omer Brokman, Oleg Prus, Eyal Zadicario
Filed: 25 Nov 20
Utility
Ultrasound frequency and microbubble size optimization in microbubble-enhanced ultrasound treatment
14 Jun 22
Various approaches for enhancing treatment of target tissue using a source of focused ultrasound while limiting damage to non-target tissue include selecting a frequency of ultrasound waves transmitted from the source of focused ultrasound for generating a focus in the target tissue; providing microbubbles having the first size distribution such that at least 50% of the microbubbles have a radius smaller than a critical radius corresponding to a resonance frequency matching the selected frequency of ultrasound waves; and applying the ultrasound waves at the selected frequency to treat the target tissue.
Rafi De Picciotto, Javier Grinfeld, Yoav Levy
Filed: 29 Jun 18
Utility
Precedent-based ultrasound focusing
5 Apr 22
Various approaches for operating an ultrasound transducer having multiple transducer elements include acquiring one or more measurements of anatomical regions through which ultrasound waves emitted from the transducer elements travel; for each of the anatomical regions, determining values of characteristics based at least in part on the measurement(s); computationally predicting aberrations of the ultrasound waves traveling through the anatomical regions by using the first values as input to a predictor that has been computationally trained to predict ultrasound aberrations based on values of the characteristics; and driving the transducer elements to compensate for the predicted aberrations.
Yoav Levy, Eyal Zadicario, Talia Amar
Filed: 14 Jul 17
Utility
Ultrasound focusing in dynamically changing media
5 Apr 22
Various approaches to generating and maintaining an ultrasound focus at a target region include configuring a controller to cause transmission of treatment ultrasound pulses from a transducer having multiple transducer elements; cause the transducer to transmit focusing ultrasound pulses to the target region and generate an acoustic reflector therein; measure reflections of the focusing ultrasound pulses from the acoustic reflector; based at least in part on the measured reflections, adjust a parameter value associated with one or more transducer elements so as to maintain and/or improve the ultrasound focus at the target region.
Yoav Levy, Eyal Zadicario, Shuki Vitek, Javier Grinfeld, Ohad Silbiger
Filed: 11 Dec 17
Utility
Systems and methods for ensuring coherence between multiple ultrasound transducer arrays
15 Mar 22
A system for maintaining coherence of ultrasound waves emitted by multiple transducer arrays includes multiple retention arms, each for receiving one of the transducer arrays; a connecting frame for receiving and mechanically retaining the arms in fixed angular relation to each other; and a processor configured to determine relative locations of the transducer arrays with respect to one another and the connecting frame; determine a location of the connecting frame relative to an anatomic region of interest; determine a spatial arrangement of the transducer elements in each transducer array with respect to the anatomic region of interest; and adjust a transmission configuration of the transducer elements in the transducer arrays to achieve a desired focusing property with respect to the anatomic region of interest while maintaining coherence therebetween.
Yoav Levy
Filed: 20 Jun 17
Utility
Ultrasound focusing using a cross-point switch matrix
15 Mar 22
A system for delivering ultrasound energy to an internal anatomical target includes an ultrasound transducer having multiple transducer elements collectively operable as a phased array; multiple driver circuits, each being connected to at least one of the transducer elements; multiple phase circuits; a switch matrix selectably coupling the driver circuits to the phase circuits; and a controller configured for (i) receiving as input a target average intensity level and/or an energy level energy to be applied to the target and/or a temperature level in target, (ii) identifying multiple sets of the transducer elements, each of the sets corresponding to multiple transducer elements for shaping and/or focusing, as a phased array, ultrasound energy at the target across tissue intervening between the target and the ultrasound transducer, and (iii) sequentially operating the transducer-element sets to apply and maintain the target average energy level at the target.
Kobi Vortman, Shuki Vitek, Yoav Levy
Filed: 20 Jun 17
Utility
3D conformal radiation therapy with reduced tissue stress and improved positional tolerance
21 Sep 21
An approach for enhancing radiation treatment of target tissue includes identifying a target volume of the target tissue; causing disruption of vascular tissue in a region confined to the target volume so as to define the target volume; based at least in part on the disruption of the vascular tissue, determining a radiation treatment plan having a reduced radiation dose for treating the target tissue; and exposing the target volume to the reduced radiation dose based on the radiation treatment plan.
Kobi Vortman, Yoav Levy
Filed: 29 Jun 17
Utility
Systems and methods for avoiding MRI-originated interference with concurrently used systems
7 Sep 21
MRI interference with a concurrently operated system may be reduced or corrected by subtracting the MRI interference from signals measured using the concurrently operated system.
Benny Assif
Filed: 15 Oct 15
Utility
Overcoming acoustic field and skull non-uniformities
31 Aug 21
Various approaches for heating a target region substantially uniformly include identifying one or more locations of one or more hot spots in the target region and/or surrounding regions of the target region during an ultrasound sonication process; computing a temporal variation to an output parameter of at least one of the transducer elements based at least in part on the identified location(s) of the hot spot(s); and operating the at least one transducer element to achieve the temporal variation of the output parameter so as to minimize the hot spot(s).
Kobi Vortman, Shuki Vitek, Eyal Zadicario, Yoav Levy
Filed: 12 Jan 17
Utility
Phased array calibration for geometry and aberration correction
26 Jan 21
Various approaches for calibrating the geometry of an ultrasound transducer having multiple transducer elements include providing an acoustic reflector spanning an area traversing by multiple beam paths of ultrasound waves transmitted from all (or at least some) transducer elements to a focal zone; causing the transducer elements to transmit the ultrasound waves to the focal zone; measuring reflections of the ultrasound waves off the acoustic reflector; and based at least in part on the measured reflections, determining optimal geometric parameters associated with the transducer elements.
Oleg Prus, Yoav Levy
Filed: 18 May 20
Utility
Systems and methods for avoiding MRI-originated interference with concurrently used systems
28 Dec 20
MRI interference with a concurrently operated system may be reduced or corrected by subtracting the MRI interference from signals measured using the concurrently operated system.
Benny Assif
Filed: 14 Oct 15
Utility
Systems and methods for registering images obtained using various imaging modalities and verifying image registration
28 Dec 20
Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods to detect a moving anatomic feature during a treatment sequence based on a computed and/or a measured shortest distance between the anatomic feature and at least a portion of an imaging system.
Omer Brokman, Oleg Prus, Eyal Zadicario
Filed: 15 May 16
Utility
Systems and methods for optimizing transcranial ultrasound focusing
7 Sep 20
Systems and methods for predicting a phase correction of ultrasound waves transmitted from one or more transducer elements and traversing a patient's skull into a target region utilizing data of the patient's skull include predicting a first beam path of the ultrasound waves traversing the skull based at least in part on the target location; computationally determining structural characteristics of the skull along the first beam path based on the acquired imaging data; and predicting a second beam path of the ultrasound waves traversing the skull based at least in part on the determined structural characteristics, thereby accounting for refraction resulting from the skull.
Shuki Vitek, Yoav Levy
Filed: 4 Jun 17
Utility
Simulation-based focused-ultrasound treatment planning
24 Aug 20
A focused-ultrasound or other procedure for treating a target within a tissue region can be planned iteratively by creating a treatment plan specifying a treatment location pattern and stimuli applied thereto, simulating the treatment, computationally predicting an effect of the simulated treatment, comparing the predicted effect against one or more treatment constraints (such as efficacy and/or safety thresholds), and, if a constraint is violated, repeating the simulation for an adjusted treatment plan.
Yoav Levy, Benny Assif, Gilad Halevy, Yoni Hertzberg
Filed: 28 Jan 14