Non-Thermal Acoustic Tissue Modification

摘要

A methodology and system for modifying tissue including an acoustic transducer assembly (10) having a phased array (14) of piezoelectric elements (15) that directs the acoustic beam for a predetermined time duration at a multiplicity of target volumes (12), which target volumes contain tissue, thereby to modify the tissue in the target volumes while the acoustic beam has a pressure at target volume which lies below a cavitation threshold and the predetermined time duration is shorter than a time duration over which the acoustic beam produces thermal modification of tissue in the target volume, further including pressure sensors (29), a skin temperature sensor (34), and an electronic circuit (24) coupled to a control subsystem (42).