IMAGE-GUIDED TISSUE ABLATION

摘要

A method of treating hypertension in a mammal is described, including: by focused sound energy, heating at least one nerve at a surface of a renal artery in a mammal; during the heating and by magnetic resonance imaging, repeatedly determining thermal levels in each of first and second volumetric zones of a region that includes at least a portion of the surface, the second zone being adjacent to the first zone; after determining that an indicium of a thermal level in the first zone exceeds a first threshold, and upon determining that an indicium of a thermal level in the second zone exceeds a second threshold, ceasing the heating of the at least one nerve for at least three months; and as a result of the heating, lowering a blood pressure in the mammal.

主权项

1. A method of treating a mammal, comprising:
by focused sound energy, heating a target tissue in a mammal; during the heating and by magnetic resonance imaging, repeatedly determining thermal levels in each of a first volumetric zone and a second volumetric zone within a target region that includes at least a portion of the target tissue and is subject to the heating; after determining that an indicium of a thermal level in the first zone exceeds a first threshold, and upon determining that an indicium of a thermal level in the second zone exceeds a second threshold, different from the first threshold, ceasing the heating of the target tissue for at least one day.