Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
155 words
An ultrasound hyperthermia apparatus comprising: a tomographic ultrasound probe for irradiating a living organism with ultrasound and for receiving reflected ultrasound therefrom in order to obtain a tomographic image of the living organism; a heating applicator for irradiating a desired portion in the living organism with focused ultrasound so as to heat the desired portion; tomographic image signal generating means, coupled to said tomographic ultrasound probe, for generating a tomographic image signal representative of reflected signal intensity of said reflected ultrasound; focusing point detecting means, coupled to said heating applicator, for detecting the position of a focusing point of the heating ultrasound to generate a focusing point position information signal indicating the position of the focusing point of the ultrasound; and tomographic image display means, coupled to said focusing point detecting means and said tomographic image signal generating means, for displaying the tomographic image and the focusing point of the ultrasound in the tomographic image.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
155 words
An ultrasound hyperthermia apparatus comprising: a tomographic ultrasound probe for irradiating a living organism with ultrasound and for receiving reflected ultrasound therefrom in order to obtain a tomographic image of the living organism; a heating applicator for irradiating a desired portion in the living organism with focused ultrasound so as to heat the desired portion; tomographic image signal generating means, coupled to said tomographic ultrasound probe, for generating a tomographic image signal representative of reflected signal intensity of said reflected ultrasound; focusing point detecting means, coupled to said heating applicator, for detecting the position of a focusing point of the heating ultrasound to generate a focusing point position information signal indicating the position of the focusing point of the ultrasound; and tomographic image display means, coupled to said focusing point detecting means and said tomographic image signal generating means, for displaying the tomographic image and the focusing point of the ultrasound in the tomographic image.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
22 words
An apparatus according according to claim 1, wherein said heating applicator comprises means for focusing the radiated ultrasound at an end thereof.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said tomographic image signal generating means comprises a B mode system.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
21 words
An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said tomographic image display means comprises a digital scan converter and a CRT display.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
158 words
An ultrasound hyperthermia apparatus comprising: a tomographic ultrasound probe for irradiating a living organism with ultrasound and for receiving reflected ultrasound therefrom in order to obtain a tomographic image of the living organism; a heating applicator for irradiating a desired portion in the living organism with focused ultrasound so as to heat the desired portion; tomographic image signal generating means, coupled to said tomographic ultrasound probe, for generating a tomographic image signal representative of reflected signal intensity of said reflected ultrasound; heat portion detecting means, coupled to said tomographic ultrasound probe, for detecting a heated portion in the living organism based upon the ultrasound radiated from said heating applicator so as to generate a heated portion position information signal indicating the position of the heated portion; and tomographic image display means, coupled to said heated portion detecting means and said tomographic image signal generating means, for displaying the tomographic image and the heated portion in the tomographic image.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
158 words
An ultrasound hyperthermia apparatus comprising: a tomographic ultrasound probe for irradiating a living organism with ultrasound and for receiving reflected ultrasound therefrom in order to obtain a tomographic image of the living organism; a heating applicator for irradiating a desired portion in the living organism with focused ultrasound so as to heat the desired portion; tomographic image signal generating means, coupled to said tomographic ultrasound probe, for generating a tomographic image signal representative of reflected signal intensity of said reflected ultrasound; heat portion detecting means, coupled to said tomographic ultrasound probe, for detecting a heated portion in the living organism based upon the ultrasound radiated from said heating applicator so as to generate a heated portion position information signal indicating the position of the heated portion; and tomographic image display means, coupled to said heated portion detecting means and said tomographic image signal generating means, for displaying the tomographic image and the heated portion in the tomographic image.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
41 words
An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said heated portion detecting means is arranged to detect, from an output signal of said tomographic ultrasound probe, harmonic components of the ultrasound from said heating applicator in order to detect the heated portion.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
55 words
An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said heated portion detecting means is arranged to detect, from an output signal of said tomographic ultrasound probe, an amplitude component of the ultrasound from said heating applicator larger than an amplitude component of the ultrasound from said tomographic ultrasound probe in order to detect the heated portion.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
49 words
An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said heating applicator is arranged to be driven by a continuous wave drive signal in order to heat an internal area of the living organism and to be driven by a burst wave drive signal in order to detect the heated portion.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
25 words
An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said heating applicator is alternately driven by the continuous wave drive signal and the burst wave drive signal.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
35 words
An apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising timing means for causing said heating applicator and said tomographic ultrasonic probe to radiate the ultrasound at substantially the same timing, to a portion to be heated.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
159 words
An ultrasound hyperthermia apparatus comprising: a tomographic ultrasound probe for irradiating a living organism with ultrasound and for receiving reflected ultrasound therefrom in order to obtain a tomographic image of the living organism; a heating applicator for irradiating a desired portion in the living organism with focused ultrasound so as to heat the desired portion; tomographic image signal generating means, coupled to said tomographic ultrasound probe, for generating a tomographic image signal representative of reflected signal intenisity of said reflected ultrasound; heat portion detecting means, coupled to said tomographic ultrasound probe, for detecting a heated portion in the living organism based upon burst wave ultrasound radiated from said heating applicator so as to generate a heated portion position information signal indicating the position of the heated portion; and tomographic image display means, coupled to said heated portion detecting means and said tomographic image signal generating means, for displaying the tomographic image and the heated portion in the tomographic image.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
159 words
An ultrasound hyperthermia apparatus comprising: a tomographic ultrasound probe for irradiating a living organism with ultrasound and for receiving reflected ultrasound therefrom in order to obtain a tomographic image of the living organism; a heating applicator for irradiating a desired portion in the living organism with focused ultrasound so as to heat the desired portion; tomographic image signal generating means, coupled to said tomographic ultrasound probe, for generating a tomographic image signal representative of reflected signal intenisity of said reflected ultrasound; heat portion detecting means, coupled to said tomographic ultrasound probe, for detecting a heated portion in the living organism based upon burst wave ultrasound radiated from said heating applicator so as to generate a heated portion position information signal indicating the position of the heated portion; and tomographic image display means, coupled to said heated portion detecting means and said tomographic image signal generating means, for displaying the tomographic image and the heated portion in the tomographic image.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
49 words
An apparatus according to claim to claim 11, wherein said heated portion detecting means is arranged to detect, from an output signal of said tomographic ultrasound probe, harmonic components of the ultrasound radiated from said heating applicator in synchronism with radiation of burst wave ultrasound from said heating applicator.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
56 words
An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said heated portion detecting means is arranged to detect, from an output signal of said tomographic ultrasonic probe, signal components having an amplitude larger than a predetermined amplitude based upon the ultrasound radiated from said heating applicator in synchronism with radiation of burst wave ultrasound from said heating applicator.