The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 10, 1996
Filed:
Aug. 01, 1995
Pei Zhong, Durham, NC (US);
Franklin H Cocks, Durham, NC (US);
Glenn M Preminger, Chapel Hill, NC (US);
Duke University, Durham, NC (US);
Abstract
The invention relates to a method for the comminution of concretions in vivo by controlled, concentrated cavitation energy. This method utilizes two shock wave pulses with a specified time delay and pressure relationship, with the first shock wave pulse being used to induce a transient cavitation bubble cluster near the target concretion, and the second shock wave pulse to control and force the collapse of the cavitation bubble cluster towards the target concretion with concentrated energy deposition, while avoiding injury to surrounding tissue caused by random collapse of the cavitation bubbles. This invention makes it possible to significantly enhance the fragmentation efficiency of the concretion using shock waves while reducing potential deleterious injury to surrounding tissue.