Hitachi Aloka Medical, Ltd.

Sound Wave Innovation Co., Ltd.

Kazunori Itani

Hiroshi Kanai

Hiroaki Shimokawa

Yoshinori Seki

A probe () transmits and receives diagnostic ultrasound and therapeutic ultrasound. A transmission unit () forms a transmission beam of the therapeutic ultrasound having a higher wave number than the diagnostic ultrasound and scans the transmission beam of the therapeutic ultrasound in a therapeutic region set inside a diagnostic region by controlling the probe (). Since the therapeutic ultrasound having a higher wave number than the diagnostic ultrasound is used, the therapeutic effect is higher than when using a therapeutic ultrasound having a similar wave number to the diagnostic ultrasound, and since the transmission beam of the therapeutic ultrasound is scanned in the therapeutic region, the therapeutic effect is higher than when the transmission beam of the therapeutic ultrasound is not scanned.

Ultrasonic treatment device

A signal generation unitgenerates, and sends to a transmission circuit, a driving signal for forming a transmission pulse. A probeis transmission controlled to transmit ultrasound at a transmission frequency which is set using, as a reference, a resonance frequency of a bubble administered into a living organism, and also at a transmission sound pressure which is set using an expansion ratio of the bubble as a reference. The signal generation unitoutputs a transmission pulse having a waveform corresponding to a center frequency of about 1.5 MHz and a transmission sound pressure of about 200 to 300 kPa. With this structure, it is possible to increase a harmonic component obtained from the bubble while suppressing a harmonic component obtained from real tissue, so that extremely high CTR can be obtained.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Kazunori Itani