WO1983002718A1 - Appareil et procede de destruction selective de cellules - Google Patents

Appareil et procede de destruction selective de cellules Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1983002718A1
WO1983002718A1 PCT/US1982/000196 US8200196W WO8302718A1 WO 1983002718 A1 WO1983002718 A1 WO 1983002718A1 US 8200196 W US8200196 W US 8200196W WO 8302718 A1 WO8302718 A1 WO 8302718A1
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Prior art keywords
selected cells
cells
energy
crystal
resonant
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US1982/000196
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English (en)
Inventor
Martin Levine
Original Assignee
Drewes, William
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
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Publication date
Application filed by Drewes, William filed Critical Drewes, William
Priority to EP82900905A priority Critical patent/EP0101439A1/fr
Priority to PCT/US1982/000196 priority patent/WO1983002718A1/fr
Publication of WO1983002718A1 publication Critical patent/WO1983002718A1/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10K—SOUND-PRODUCING DEVICES; METHODS OR DEVICES FOR PROTECTING AGAINST, OR FOR DAMPING, NOISE OR OTHER ACOUSTIC WAVES IN GENERAL; ACOUSTICS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G10K11/00—Methods or devices for transmitting, conducting or directing sound in general; Methods or devices for protecting against, or for damping, noise or other acoustic waves in general
    • G10K11/18—Methods or devices for transmitting, conducting or directing sound
    • G10K11/26—Sound-focusing or directing, e.g. scanning
    • G10K11/30—Sound-focusing or directing, e.g. scanning using refraction, e.g. acoustic lenses
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B90/00—Instruments, implements or accessories specially adapted for surgery or diagnosis and not covered by any of the groups A61B1/00 - A61B50/00, e.g. for luxation treatment or for protecting wound edges
    • A61B90/10—Instruments, implements or accessories specially adapted for surgery or diagnosis and not covered by any of the groups A61B1/00 - A61B50/00, e.g. for luxation treatment or for protecting wound edges for stereotaxic surgery, e.g. frame-based stereotaxis
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
    • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
    • A61N5/02—Radiation therapy using microwaves
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
    • A61N7/00—Ultrasound therapy
    • A61N7/02—Localised ultrasound hyperthermia
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B10/00—Other methods or instruments for diagnosis, e.g. instruments for taking a cell sample, for biopsy, for vaccination diagnosis; Sex determination; Ovulation-period determination; Throat striking implements
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B17/00—Surgical instruments, devices or methods, e.g. tourniquets
    • A61B2017/00017—Electrical control of surgical instruments
    • A61B2017/00022—Sensing or detecting at the treatment site
    • A61B2017/00106—Sensing or detecting at the treatment site ultrasonic

Definitions

  • TECHNICAL FIELD This invention pertains to the destruction of tissue cells, such as tumorous tissue cells, and more specifically to the non-invasive selective destruction of such cells by ultrasonic transmissions.
  • Another known ultrasonic technique involves the direct application of ultrasound to the target area by means of a vibrating surgical instrument, often in the form of a probe. Where internal cells are to be dest- royed, the probe must be surgically inserted into the patient to accomplish direct application, whereupon the instrument is vibrated with sufficient intensity to dest- • roy the target cells. See, for example, U.S. Patent Nos. 4,136,700, 4,063,557, 3,896,811, 3,823,717, 3,805,787, 3,589,363, 3,565,062 and 3,352,303.
  • the use of vib ⁇ rating probes is accompanied by the risk of damage to sur ⁇ rounding tissue cells, especially when the target area is ⁇ mall.
  • the vibrating probe is useless in the case of transient target cells and is disadvantageous insofar as it requires surgical insertion to destroy in ⁇ ternal cell groups.
  • U.S. Patent Nos. 3,499,436 and 3,499,437 are of interest insofar as they disclose means for transmitting sonic energy to an organism for analgesic and other pur ⁇ poses.
  • OMPI DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION exhibit several resonant frequencies cor ⁇ responding, for example, to distortion of the cell wall, distortion of the nucleus, etc.
  • frequen ⁇ cy the portion of the input energy converted into mechan- cial energy, i.e. motion, will be significantly enhanced if the input frequency is at one of the resonant frequen ⁇ cies of the cell.
  • the mechanical response of an object to a given input driving frequency is defined by its trans- issibility T where 1
  • Equation A w is the frequency of the input driving energy, w i-s the resonant frequency of the object, and L n is the damping coefficient of the object.
  • the percentage of the input n driving energy converted to mechanical energy in the ob ⁇ ject at resonance is almost three times as great as when the input driving energy is at a frequency 25% above reso ⁇ nance.
  • the method and apparatus of the invention rely on the phenomenon of resonance to destroy abnormal cells, such as cells comprising a tumor. Because of the differ- 5 ence in structure as between normal tissue cells and ab ⁇ normal cells, their resonant frequencies also differ. Therefore, if a resonant frequency of the abnormal tissue cells can be found at which the transmissibility of the abnormal cells is sufficiently higher than the trans- ] _0 missibility of the surrounding healthy tissue cells, the abnormal cells can be vibrated at that frequency with suf ⁇ ficient intensity to destroy them. The healthy cells, because they exhibit a low transmissibility at the destructive frequency selected, will not be damaged in the ]_5 process.
  • a biopsy of the abnormal cells is preferably taken.
  • the resonant frequencies of the biopsy cells may then be determined by impacting the biopsy cells with energy over the expected range of useful resonant .frequencies, for example, .1MHz 5 to 4MHz. If cell movement is monitored during this proce ⁇ dure, the resonant frequencies will be apparent from amplified movement of the cells at those frequencies.
  • the biopsy cells may be impacted by ultra ⁇ sound from a piezoelectric crystal driven by an rf 0 generator and cell movement detected by a laser inter ⁇ ferometer of sufficient resolution.
  • high frequency pulse techniques may be used to determine the corresponding damping coeffi ⁇ cients. 5
  • a transmission path through the patient's body to the abnormal cells is then selected, the object being to minimize attenuation and reflection losses during transmission.
  • transmissibility of each of the different types of normal tissue cells in the transmission path is determined for each of the different resonant frequencies of the abnormal cells. Again, it will be apparent from Equation A that this requires knowledge of the resonant frequencies and corresponding damping coefficients of the healthy tissue cells.
  • one of the resonant frequencies of the abnormal cells is selected as the destructive frequency.
  • the ab ⁇ normal cells must exhibit a sufficiently low damping coef ⁇ ficient to insure a significant resonant effect.
  • the normal tissue cells in the transmission path must exhibit a relatively low transmissibility at the destructive frequency selected. This is necessary to avoid damage to the normal tissue cells during the destruction process.
  • the intensity required to destroy the abnormal cells is calculated. To do- so, it is necessary to take into account the attenuation and reflection losses as the destructive beam passes through the intervening body tissue before impacting the abnormal cells.
  • a medium such as water, be disposed between the patient and the source of the destructive beam, and losses resulting from transmission through this medium should also be taken into account.
  • the patient is then positioned such that ultra- sonic radiation from the source is transmitted along the preferred transmission path to the abnormal cells where ⁇ upon the source is activated to deliver ultrasonic radia ⁇ tion at the intensity and frequency selected, the radiation being continued until the abnormal cells are destroyed. Because of the high frequencies involved, the time period required to destructively vibrate the cells is minimal. Consequently, effects due to heating of neigh- boring healthy tissue will be negligible.
  • abnormal cells If the number of abnormal cells is sufficiently small, they will likely be carried out of the body by its normal waste systems. Alternatively, when the growth is large, surgical removal may be necessary. However, because the abnormal cells are already dead, removal of all the abnormal cells is not necessary. Therefore, dam ⁇ age to surrounding healthy tissue is avoided even when surgical removal is required.
  • the method and apparatus of the invention may be used for treating non- localized abnormal cell growths, such as those found in skin cancer patients. It is also valuable in treating conditions wherein the abnormal cells are transient, as in the case of leukemia.
  • FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the preferred apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention
  • FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of the preferred switching network for connecting the piezoelectric crystal to the imaging electronics and rf generator; and
  • FIG. 3 is a modified apparatus for practicing the method of the present invention.
  • the preferred system 10 for practicing the present invention is diagrammatically illustrated.
  • the system 10 includes ultrasonic 5 transmitter-receiver means 12 for focusing ultrasonic energy on the patient 14.
  • Ultrasonic transmitter- receiver means 12 may comprise, for example, a piezoelectric crystal transducer 16 of conventional flat disc-like geometry, interfaced, via a suitable coupling 10 medium 18, with the flat surface of a plano-concave lens 20.
  • the lens 20 may be comprised of any suitable mate ⁇ rial, such as polystyrene.
  • the coupling medium 18 may comprise water, oil or the like, and is utilized to minimize reflection losses between the crystal 16 and the 15 lens 20.
  • the crystal 16 may be bonded directly to the lens 20.
  • Excitation of the piezoelectric crystal 16 by a suitable radio frequency generator 22 results in conver ⁇ sion Of the exciting energy into an essentially collimated 20 beam of ultrasound which is transmitted via the coupling medium 18 to the lens 20 where it is focused on the patient 14.
  • the rf generator 22 preferaby drives the crystal 16 to produce a series of short ultrasonic pulses which are focused by the lens 20 5 on the suspected locus of the tumor or other growth 30.
  • the pulses are preferably in the frequency range from about 1MHz to about 3MHz.
  • the pulses should be of rela ⁇ tively low intensity and sufficiently short to avoid dam- age to the body tissue.
  • the lens 20 is preferably coup ⁇ led to the patient's skin by a liquid transmission medium, such as water. While means for effecting liquid coupling are not illustrated in FIG. 1, such means are well known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Patent No. 3,237,623, 5 the content' of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
  • a liquid transmission medium the lens, provided it has a suitably short focal length, may be placed directly against the body and coupled to the skin, as by a cream.
  • the short duration ultrasonic pulses pene ⁇ trate the body and impact the internal structures thereof, echo pulses are returned to the lens face 20.
  • the echo pulses represent reflections from the different biological structures which present different acoustical impedances to the traveling ultrasonic pulses as a result of differ ⁇ ences in density and elasticity.
  • the ultrasonic echo pulses strike the lens 20, they are transmitted to the piezoelectric crystal 16 which converts them into radio frequency energy. This energy is detected by suitable imaging electronics 24 tuned to the carrier frequency of the rf generator 22.
  • the crystal 16 is sectioned to accommodate simultaneous transmission and reception of ultrasonic energy.
  • crystal 16 is preferably subdivided into two major sectors 17 and two minor sectors 19.
  • the major sectors 17 are coupled to the rf generator 22 and thus serve as a source of ultrasonic pulses.
  • a switching network 25 is provided for connecting the minor sectors 19 to either the rf generator 22 or the imaging electronics 24.
  • the minor sectors 19 are connected to the imaging electronics 24 and thus serve to detect the returning echo pulses.
  • the imaging electronics 24 produce output volt ⁇ age pulses, the magnitudes of which are proportional to the amplitude of the echo pulses.
  • the ouput pulses are preferably displayed on the CRT display 26.
  • echo pulses may be displayed as spikes of varying height along the time base sweep line on the screen, with the height of each spike being indicative of the relative reflectivity of the biological target, and the displacement of the spike with respect to the point of origin of the sweep line being
  • the electronic beam of the CRT is intensity-modulated by the returning echo pulses and deflected in synchronism with the ultrasonic beam as it scans a particular area of the body. It will be apparent that with either technique it is possible to definitively determine the depth coordinates of the abnor ⁇ mal cells 30 which exhibit a different reflectivity than that of the surrounding tissue. Once determined ,- the coordinates of the abnormal cells 30 are preferably stored in a computer 27. However, and as will be apparent hereinafter, destruction of abnormal cells according to the present invention does not require a precise deter ⁇ mination of the locus of the cells to be destroyed.
  • the means 12 is preferably supported by a stereotaxic device 28. Since the construction of such devices is well known in the art, further description thereof is deemed unneces- sary. See, for example, the stereotaxic device disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,237,623, the content of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. As diagrammatically shown, movement of the stereotaxic device 28 is preferably controlled by the computer 27 which may be preprogrammed to scan all or. part of the patient's body. —
  • the biopsy 32 is taken. For reasons that will become apparent hereinafter, the biopsy is used to determine the resonant frequencies and corresponding damping coefficients of the abnormal cells.
  • the resonant frequencies may be deter ⁇ mined, for example, by employing laser interferometry.
  • the biopsy cells 32 are impacted by ultrasound using, for example, an ultrasonic transmitter-receiver means 12a.
  • the means 12a may be identical to the means 12 described hereinabove, and thus preferably includes crystal 16a, coupling medium 18a, and lens 20a. Like the crystal 16, the crystal 16a
  • OMP preferably includes major sectors 17a connected to rf generator 22, minor sectors 19a, and a switching network 25a for selectively coupling the minor sectors to either the rf generator 22 or the imaging electronics 24.
  • a separate rf generator and imaging elec- troinics could be used.
  • the means 12a could be eliminated altogether and the transmitter receiver means 12 used for impacting the biopsy cells 32 as well.
  • a separate transmitter means 12a is presently preferred.
  • the frequen ⁇ cy of the rf generator 22 is gradually increased such that the frequency of the ultrasonic beam generated by the piezoelectric crystal 16a is varied over the expected useful range of resonant frequencies of the biopsy cells 32.
  • the crystal 16a may be driven over the range .1MHz to 4MHz.
  • cells exhibit several resonant frequencies corresponding, for example, to linear motion of the nucleus, distortion of the nucleus, distortion of the cell wall, etc.
  • the generator 22 is preferably driven over the desired frequency range . -- ⁇ EU by the computer 27 which may be preprogrammed for this function.
  • the switching network 25a is set such that both the major sectors 17a and minor sectors 19a of the crystal 16a are connected to the rf generator 22.
  • the laser interfero etry unit 34 detects the resulting movement of the biopsy cells 32.
  • the output from the ' laser 36 is split into two beams. The first beam is directed at the biopsy cells 32 and reflec- ted therefrom to the interferometer 38, while the second beam is introduced directly into the interferometer.
  • the inter ⁇ ferometer 38 measures the movement of the impacted object, in this case the biopsy cells 32, based on changes in the light pattern produced when the two laser beams are com ⁇ bined.
  • the resonant frequencies of the cells 32 are indicated by amplified movement of the cell structure as detected by the interferometer 38.
  • Laser interferometers having suf ⁇ ficient resolution for incorporation in the system 10 are commercially available.
  • the Model 5526A laser interferometer marketed by Hewlett-Packard is capa ⁇ ble of measuring distance_ with a resolution of one mil- lionth of an inch.
  • the resonant frequencies of the cells 32 as detec ⁇ ted by the laser interferometer 34 are preferably stored in the computer 27 for subsequent use.
  • the corresponding damping coefficient of the abnormal cells will be so high that little, if any, amplified movement of the cells will occur.
  • this is of little concern since, as will be apparent hereinaf ⁇ ter, resonant frequencies at which the damping coefficient is high are of no interest.
  • the damping coefficients of the cells 32 at those frequencies are determined. Because of the frequencies involved, it is resently preferred ⁇ e ploy high frequency pulse techniques to determine the damping coefficients.
  • the rf generator 22 is then activated to drive the crystal 16a to produce pulses of predetermined intensitity at one of the resonant frequen ⁇ cies.
  • the rf generator is preferably controlled by the computer 27 in which information defin ⁇ ing the resonant frequencies of the cells 32 has been stored.
  • the imaging electronics 24 detect the intensities of the returning echo pulses reflected from the rear face of the specimen.
  • the damping coefficient of the cells at the resonant frequency under consideration is then determinable from the decay rate of the echo pulses. To insure the accuracy of this technique, it will be apparent that the specimens cemented to the crystal 16a must be sufficiently thin to avoid effects due to scattering of the ultrasonic beam as it passes through the specimen upon entry and again upon reflection.
  • the procedure is simply repeated with suitable adjustment of the pulse frequency.
  • the damping coefficients of the cells at each resonant frequency are preferably stored in the computer 27.
  • the energy intensity required to destroy the cells 32 at each reso ⁇ nant frequency is determined. This determination is readily made by stepping the generator 22 to successively drive the crystal 16a at each resonant frequency of th « cells 32, such stepping preferably being carried out by the computer 27 which may be preprogrammed for this func ⁇ tion.
  • the switching network 25a is ad ⁇ justed to couple the minor sectors 19a to the rf generator 22 such that the entire face of the crystal 16a serves as a source of ultrasonic radiation.
  • the intensity of the generator ' 22 is gradually increased until destruction of the biopsy cells 32 is detected.
  • Cell destruction may be detected, for example, by visual observation through a microscopic element (not shown). Whatever technique is employed, the intensity level of the rf generator 22 at destruction is recorded and preferably stored in the computer 27. A new group of biopsy cells 32 is then substituted whereupon the proce- dure is repeated at the next resonant frequency, and so on, until the energy intensity required to destroy the biopsy cells 32 at each resonant frequency is recorded.
  • the actual intensity of the ultra ⁇ sonic beam required to destroy the abnormal cells 30 within the patient 14 will be higher then the intensity required to destroy the biopsy cells 32.
  • One reason for this difference is that energy will be lost by attenuation and reflection as the ultrasonic beam passes through intervening body tissues before striking the ab- normal cells 30 in the patient 14.
  • the actual attenuation and reflection losses resulting from transmission through that path may be calculated.
  • the attenuation per unit distance for high frequency transmissions through various body tissues as a function of frequency is available.
  • Such information may be found, for example, in Harris & Crede's Shock and Vibration Handbook, Second Edition, McGraw Hill, 1976, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
  • the total attenuation losses may be calculated.
  • the distance traveled through each intervening body tissue may be determined, for example, by x-ray or pulse imaging techniques.
  • the attenuation losses are preferably calculated at each resonant frequen ⁇ cy of the cells 30.
  • Z is the acoustic impedance of the first medium and Z is the acoustic impedance of the second medium.
  • the acoustic impedance Z of a given medium is equal to C where D is the density of the medium and c is the velocity of sound through that medium.
  • B ⁇ EA the fraction of the initial energy lost during transmis ⁇ sion as a result of reflection losses is determined by summing the losses at each successive interface as cal ⁇ culated from Equation B.
  • the different tissue interfaces may also be identified, for example, by employing x-ray or pulse echo imaging techniques. Inasmuch as the acoustic impedance of most materials, including body tissues, is relatively constant at frequencies above 1 megahertz, it is not necessary to recalculate reflection losses for each resonant frequency of the cells 30.
  • the computer 27 is provided with a data base comprising the impedance and attenuation charac ⁇ teristics of the various body tissues.
  • the computer may then be programmed to calculate the attenuation and reflection losses for any given frequency and transmission path, such programming being within the capabilities of the skilled art worker.
  • the data base of the computer 27 is augmented with information defining the anatomy of the patient 14, the computer may be programmed to determine the optimum trans ⁇ mission path, i.e. the path resulting in the minimum ener ⁇ gy loss, such programming also being within the capabilities ⁇ ities of the skilled art worker once this description is known.
  • the losses occasioned during transmission through the air medium between the means 12a and the biopsy cells 32 are due to attenuation losses as well as reflection losses at the air-cell interface. Inasmuch as the attenuation char ⁇ acteristics and acoustical impedance of air are well known, these losses are also easily calculated.
  • calculation of the attenuation and reflection losses resulting from transmission both through the water medium between the means 12 and the patient 14 and the air medium between the means 12a and the biopsy cells 32 are carried out by the computer 27 which may be programmed for this function, such programming again being well within the capabilities of the skilled art worker.
  • the intensity required to dest- roy the cells 30 in patient " 14 at a given resonant frequency is equal to the intensity required to destroy the biopsy cells 32 at that frequency, increased by an amount sufficient to compensate for losses resulting from transmission through the water medium and intervening body tissue, and decreased by an amount sufficient to compen ⁇ sate for the absence of losses resulting from transmission through the air medium between the means 12a and the biop ⁇ sy cells 32.
  • These calculations are preferably carried out by the computer 27 which may be preprogrammed for this function. The results are preferably stored in the computer 27 for subsequent use.
  • the intensities and frequencies of a plurality of ultrasonic beams potentially useful for destroying the cells 30 are now known. Of these, the optimum destructive beam is selected. This requires consideration of two fac ⁇ tors. The first is the damping coefficient of the target cells at the destructive frequency selected. Thus, as is apparent from Equation A, the resonant effect imparted to the target cells at a particular frequency is a function of the damping coefficient of the cells at that frequency. It can be shown from Equation A that if the damping coef ⁇ ficient is .5 or higher, the resonant effect is virtually nil.
  • the damping coefficient of the cells 30 at the selected frequency should be less than .5 and preferably .2 or less. Assuming a damping coefficient of .2 or less is desired, any potentially destructive resonant frequency at which the cells 30 exhibit a damping coefficient higher than .2 may be eliminated.
  • the second factor is the potential for damage to intervening body tissue.
  • the destructive beam selected for resonating the target cells 30 imparts a sig ⁇ nificant resonant effect to the intervening body tissue as well, it may result in damage to that tissue. Such a result is clearly undesirable. From Equation A, it will be apparent that once the resonant frequencies and corre- sponding damping coefficients of the various intervening body tissues are known, the resonant effect that would be imparted to those tissues at each potentially destructive resonant frequency may be determined. The resonant frequencies and corresponding damping coefficients of the intervening body tissues may be determined, for example, by employing the techniques described hereinabove for determining the resonant frequencies and damping coeffi ⁇ cients of the cells 32.
  • the potentially destructive frequency imparting the least resonant effect to the intervening body tissue is preferably selected.
  • this selection will preferably be performed by the computer 27, which may be preprogrammed for this purpose.
  • Such programming is well within the capabilities of the skilled art worker once In a modified procedure, the technique for selecting a destructive beam that will avoid significant damage to intervening body tissue may be somewhat sim ⁇ plified.
  • Equation A when there is a difference of approximately 25% or more between the input frequency w and the resonant frequency w of the n object, the resonant effect imparted to the object is vir ⁇ tually non-existent. Accordingly, damage to intervening body tissue may be avoided by selecting a destructive res- onant frequency exhibiting a difference of 25% or more from the resonant frequencies of the intervening body tissues.
  • the means 12 is posi ⁇ tioned to focus the beam from the crystal 16 along the optimum transmission path through patient 14.
  • the rf generator 22 is then adjusted to drive the crystal 16 at the frequency and intensity of the selected destructive beam.
  • the switching network 25 is ad ⁇ justed to connect the minor sectors 19 to the generator 22 whereby the entire face of the crystal 16 serves as a source of ultrasonic energy.
  • the ultrasonic transmission from the means 12 is continued until the target cells 30 are destroyed.
  • a good approximation of the- time required for destruction of the cells 30 is available from a comparison with the time required to destroy the biopsy cells 32 when the means 12a is driven at the destructive frequency. If this is done, the means 12a should be driven at an intensity equal to that originally calculated for destroying the biopsy cells 32, and not at the higher intensity at which the means 12 is driven.
  • the intensity of the ultrasonic transmis- sion must be increased to insure destruction of the cells farthest from the means 12 in view of the attenuation losses resulting from transmission of the beam through the growth itself.
  • the beam path through the patient may be altered as the destruction process pro ⁇ ceeds.
  • the means 12 may be scanned over the target area to insure that all the cells 30 are destroyed.
  • Such scanning can be effected by the stereotaxic device 28 once the location of the abnormal growth has been determined as described hereinabove.
  • scanning is carried out automatically by the computer 27, in which data defining the locus of the cells 30 has been stored.
  • the computer 27 is provided with a data base defining the anatomy of the patient 14, the computer may be programmed to continuously adjust the intensity of the ultrasonic transmission to compensate for the continuous changes in the transmission path during scanning. it will be apparent, however, that destruction of the cells 30 according to the present invention does not depend on precise focusing of the destructive beam.
  • the present invention relies upon the phenomenon of resonance, rather than heating, to destroy the abnormal cells 30, impacting of adjacent healthy cells by the beam will not destroy those cells. Therefore, it is sufficient if the beam is scanned to impact the entire abnormal growth, without particular regard to whether or not the neighboring healthy cells are impacted in the process..—
  • the dead cells will be carried out of the body by the body's normal waste system.
  • the technique described hereinabove is not redundant since it is well known that conventional surgical techniques often do not result in complete removal of the abnormal cells.
  • surgeons often remove healthy surrounding tissue.
  • healthy surrounding tissue may be left intact. Any dead abnormal cells left in the body as a result will be car- ried out by the body's waste system. In any event, inas ⁇ much as they have already been destroyed, such cells will not cause any further damage to the body.
  • the method and apparatus of the present invention have been described in connection with destruction of a localized abnormal cell growth.
  • the technique is particularly suited for destroying non-localized and transient abnormal cell growths as well.
  • some cancers are char ⁇ acterized by excessive or abnormal cells in the blood.
  • leukemia there is an excess of leukocytes in the blood. Because these leukocytes are transient, con ⁇ ventional surgical techniques -are useless.
  • one or more sites may be selected and the ultrasonic bursts continued until suffi- cient leukocytes have been destroyed.
  • the sites are pref ⁇ erably chosen to minimize the intervening body tissue.
  • the extremities may be selected.
  • a plurality of transducer means 12 may be employed,
  • BURE4 each coupled to a stereotaxic device to accommodate scan ⁇ ning and focus.
  • the blood may be cir ⁇ culated outside the body for impacting by the means 12, thereby avoiding the continuous impacting of intervening body tissue.
  • Skin cancer often found over several areas of the body, may also be effectively treated by the method ⁇ and apparatus of the invention.
  • the optimum destructive beam is selected. Inasmuch as there is no intervening tissue between the skin cancer cells and the transducer means 12, and thus minimal transmission losses, a precisely focused beam of ultrasonic radiation is not required.
  • the patient may be submerged in a tank 50 filled with a suitable liquid, such as water 52.
  • a piezoelectric crystal 54 is secured against one sidewall of the tank 50 and is driven by the rf generator 56.
  • the rf generator 56 is then adjusted to drive the crystal at the selected frequency with suffi- cient intensity to destroy the cancerous cells.
  • the water medium 52 serves the same purpose as the water medium described above in connection with the system illustrated in FIG. 1, namely, to minimize transmission losses between the crystal 54 and the patient 58. To insure impacting of the entire body with radition from crystal 54, it may be necessary to reposition the patient 58 from time to time.
  • the preferred method and apparatus of the present inven- tion as described hereinabove may be modified once this description is known.
  • the ordering the of the steps of the method of the invention may be varied
  • the step of selecting the preferred transmission path through the patient 14 to the cells 30 is carried out first.
  • the resonant frequencies of the cells 32 are then determined, whereupon some of them may be immediately eliminated as a suitable destructive frequency because they impart too great a resonant effect

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Abstract

Procédé de destruction de cellules sélectionnées chez un hôte sans que des cellule non-sélectionnées soient endommagées. Le procédé consiste en la sélection d'un trajet de transmission allant d'une source d'énergie (12) jusqu'aux cellules sélectionnées (30); en la détermination d'une ou plusieurs fréquences de résonance des cellules sélectionnées (30); en la sélection comme fréquence destructive d'une fréquence de résonance à laquelle la transmissibilité des cellules sélectionnées (30) est supérieure à la transmissibilité des cellules non-sélectionnées se trouvant sur le trajet de transmission; et en la transmission d'énergie à la fréquence destructive à partir de la source (12) et le long du trajet de transmission, avec une intensité suffisante pour détruire les cellules sélectionnées (30) sans détruire les cellules non-sélectionnées. L'invention comprend également l'appareil utilisé pour appliquer ce procédé.
PCT/US1982/000196 1982-02-12 1982-02-12 Appareil et procede de destruction selective de cellules WO1983002718A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP82900905A EP0101439A1 (fr) 1982-02-12 1982-02-12 Appareil et procede de destruction selective de cellules
PCT/US1982/000196 WO1983002718A1 (fr) 1982-02-12 1982-02-12 Appareil et procede de destruction selective de cellules

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Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0157154A1 (fr) * 1984-03-17 1985-10-09 Ernst Leitz Wetzlar Gmbh Montage de lentille acoustique
EP0170416A1 (fr) * 1984-06-30 1986-02-05 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Appareil d'hyperthermie à ultrasons
EP0195073A1 (fr) * 1984-09-24 1986-09-24 Labthermics Technologies, Inc. Systeme de commande d'un protocole de temperature utilise lors de traitements par hyperthermie
DE3709404A1 (de) * 1987-03-21 1988-11-10 Schubert Werner Behandlungsvorrichtung fuer erkrankungen
WO2002015976A1 (fr) * 2000-08-25 2002-02-28 Cancer Cure As Appareil de destruction selective de cellules et de virus dans un organisme vivant
WO2009156156A1 (fr) * 2008-06-25 2009-12-30 Walter, Gerhard, Franz Dispositif et agencement pour la destruction de cellules tumorales et de tissus tumoraux
US11520996B2 (en) 2020-12-04 2022-12-06 Zaps Labs, Inc. Directed sound transmission systems and methods

Citations (1)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4315514A (en) * 1980-05-08 1982-02-16 William Drewes Method and apparatus for selective cell destruction

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US4315514A (en) * 1980-05-08 1982-02-16 William Drewes Method and apparatus for selective cell destruction

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"Microwave Absorption by Normal and Tumor Cells", WEBB, S.J. et al, Science Vol. 174, 01 October 1971 p.p. 72-74 *
"Ultrasonic Disruption", Alliger, American Laboratory Vol. 7, No. 10 October 1975, pp. 75-76, 78, 80-82, 84-85 *
"Ultrasonic Excitation for Enhanced Thermographic Detection of Cancer", KAGAN, IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Vol. 21, No. 8, January 1979 p.p. 3359-3360 *

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0157154A1 (fr) * 1984-03-17 1985-10-09 Ernst Leitz Wetzlar Gmbh Montage de lentille acoustique
EP0170416A1 (fr) * 1984-06-30 1986-02-05 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Appareil d'hyperthermie à ultrasons
EP0195073A1 (fr) * 1984-09-24 1986-09-24 Labthermics Technologies, Inc. Systeme de commande d'un protocole de temperature utilise lors de traitements par hyperthermie
EP0195073A4 (fr) * 1984-09-24 1988-04-27 Uri Therm X Inc Systeme de commande d'un protocole de temperature utilise lors de traitements par hyperthermie.
DE3709404A1 (de) * 1987-03-21 1988-11-10 Schubert Werner Behandlungsvorrichtung fuer erkrankungen
WO2002015976A1 (fr) * 2000-08-25 2002-02-28 Cancer Cure As Appareil de destruction selective de cellules et de virus dans un organisme vivant
WO2009156156A1 (fr) * 2008-06-25 2009-12-30 Walter, Gerhard, Franz Dispositif et agencement pour la destruction de cellules tumorales et de tissus tumoraux
US11520996B2 (en) 2020-12-04 2022-12-06 Zaps Labs, Inc. Directed sound transmission systems and methods
US11531823B2 (en) 2020-12-04 2022-12-20 Zaps Labs, Inc. Directed sound transmission systems and methods

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