Insightec, Ltd.

Inightee Ltd.

Eyal Zadicario

Yoav Levy

Shuki Vitek

Javier Grinfeld

Kobi Vortman

Oleg Prus

Rafi De Picciotto

Omer Brokman

Avinoam Bar-Zion

Talia Amar

Ohad Silbiger

Tal Tlusty

Arik Hananel

Gilat Schiff

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.

Simulation-based drug treatment planning

Systems and methods for applying ultrasound sonication to temporarily disrupt a patient's blood-brain barrier (BBB) include storing threshold values of an acoustic response level, an acoustic response dose and a tissue response dose associated with a target BBB region and its surrounding regions based on anatomical characteristics thereof; causing the ultrasound transducer to transmit one or more pulses/waves; measuring the acoustic response level, the acoustic response dose, and/or the tissue response dose associated with the target BBB region and/or its surrounding regions; comparing the measurement with a corresponding stored threshold value; and operating the transducer based at least in part on the comparison.

Systems and methods for selective, targeted opening of the blood-brain barrier

A system and method for selecting a patient-specific frequency for ultrasound therapy of a target within the patient are provided. The method includes: (a) for at least one segment of an ultrasound transducer and for each of a plurality of ultrasound frequencies within a test range, sonicating the target and measuring a parameter correlated with an amount of ultrasound energy absorbed in the target; and (b) for each said at least one segment, selecting for subsequent ultrasound therapy, among the frequencies within the test range, a frequency corresponding to a value of the measured parameter that itself corresponds to a maximum amount of ultrasound energy absorbed in the target.

Frequency optimization in ultrasound treatment

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.

Systems and methods for registering images obtained using various imaging modalities and verifying image registration

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.

Precedent-based ultrasound focusing

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.

Ultrasound focusing in dynamically changing media

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).

Overcoming acoustic field and skull non-uniformities

Various approaches for reducing microbubble interference with ultrasound waves transmitted from multiple transducer elements and traversing tissue onto a target region include measuring microbubbles in high-throughput areas of ultrasound exposure and reducing the amount of microbubbles using the ultrasound waves.

Therapeutic ultrasound with reduced interference from microbubbles

Skull inhomogeneity may be quantified in accordance with the skull density measured in skull images acquired using a conventional imager; the quantified inhomogeneity may then be used to determine whether the patient is suitable for ultrasound treatment and/or determine parameters associated with the ultrasound transducer for optimizing transskull ultrasound treatment.

Systems and methods for optimizing transskull acoustic treatment

Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods to verify and/or obtain a registration of images obtained two image systems (such as a CT system and an MRI system) via the use of a third imaging modality (such as an ultrasound system).

The present invention provides procedures and systems that use a closed-loop approach for directing ultrasound energy at a clot while monitoring blood flow and/or liquification of the clot tissue so as to allow automated and/or manual adjustments to various treatment parameters.

Growing community of inventors

Tel Aviv, Israel

Eyal Zadicario