Portable device to initiate and monitor treatment of stroke victims in the field

摘要

Methods and apparatuses are provided for initiating stroke treatment “in the field” and/or during the transport of the patient to a care facility. The capability is provided to adjust automatically to the individual “therapeutic window” for each single patient, which is crucial because of the significant differences in skull morphology between humans of different age, gender and race. Further, the methods and apparatuses are based on the use of non-invasive application of ultrasound, as well as the non-invasive application of ultrasound in combination with an acoustically active agent, such as microbubbles, where stable cavitation of the microbubbles caused by the ultrasound may be relied upon as an underlying mechanism for both the therapeutic application as well as its control.

主权项

1. A method, comprising:
non-invasively applying ultrasound energy to a cranium of a patient via first and second ultrasound transducers attached at disparate locations about the cranium of the patient; intravenously administering an acoustically active agent to the patient; exciting the acoustically active agent by the ultrasound energy to cause stable cavitation, controlling application of the ultrasound energy such that the first and second ultrasound transducers alternately apply the ultrasound energy in pulses to the cranium of the patient; during a time in which either the first or second ultrasound transducer is not applying ultrasound energy, detecting a state of cavitation of the acoustically active agent using the respective first or second ultrasound transducer, determining a type of cavitation from the detected state, and if the type of cavitation is inertial, whereby the application of the ultrasound energy has exceeded a level commensurate with a therapeutic window, then reducing an output power of the ultrasound energy until stable cavitation is detected; and if the type of cavitation is stable, then maintaining the output power of the ultrasound energy such that stable cavitation is maintained; wherein the non-invasive application of the ultrasound energy occurs at the site of an emergency and/or during transport to a care facility.