Apparatus and method for creating a holographic ultrasound field in an object

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11262699-B2
Application number	US-201615778409-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 7, 2016
Priority date	Dec 11, 2015
Publication date	Mar 1, 2022
Grant date	Mar 1, 2022

Abstract

An ultrasonic apparatus (100) for creating a holographic ultrasound field (1) comprises an ultrasound source device (10) being adapted for creating an ultrasound wave, and a transmission hologram device (20) having a transmission hologram (21) and an exposed acoustic emitter surface (22), said transmission hologram device (20) being acoustically coupled with the ultrasound source device (10) and being arranged for transmitting the ultrasound wave through the acoustic emitter surface (22) and creating the holographic ultrasound field in a surrounding space, wherein the acoustic emitter surface (22) is a smooth surface which do not influence the field distribution of the ultrasound wave. Furthermore, a method of creating a holographic ultrasound field in an object (3), wherein the ultrasonic apparatus (100) is used, and applications of the ultrasonic apparatus (100) are described.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An ultrasonic apparatus, being configured for creating a holographic ultrasound field, comprising
an ultrasound source device being configured for creating an ultrasound wave, and
a transmission hologram device having a transmission hologram and an outer acoustic emitter surface, said transmission hologram device being coupled with the ultrasound source device and being arranged for transmitting the ultrasound wave through the outer acoustic emitter surface and creating the holographic ultrasound field in a surrounding space, wherein
the transmission hologram is a structured component which has a holographic surface facing to the outer acoustic emitter surface and a hologram phase structure being determined by a shape of the holographic surface and extending perpendicular relative to a propagation direction of the ultra-sound wave and being capable of an interaction with the wave-front of the ultrasound wave such that the phases and/or amplitudes across the wave-front are specifically changed by the structure of the transmission hologram and the holographic ultrasound field is generated by diffraction and self-interference of the ultrasound wave after the interaction,
the holographic surface is covered by a sonic coupling layer comprising a flowable embedding material which has an acoustic impedance differing from the acoustic impedance of the transmission hologram,
a flexible cover sheet covers the embedding material and provides the outer acoustic emitter surface, and
the outer acoustic emitter surface is a smooth surface, which is capable of transmitting the ultrasound wave without changing the radial phase and/or amplitude distribution of the ultrasound wave.

2. The ultrasonic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the ultrasound source device comprises at least one of a single ultrasound source element and an array of ultrasound source elements.

3. The ultrasonic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the ultrasound source device is configured for creating a planar, paraboloid or spherical ultrasound wave.

4. The ultrasonic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the transmission hologram has a planar, paraboloid or spherical shape.

5. The ultrasonic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the transmission hologram is formed by solving an inverse diffraction problem in dependency on the holographic ultrasound field to be created.

6. The ultrasonic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the transmission hologram is a phase hologram formed by numerical approximation using an error-reduction algorithm, in dependency on the holographic ultrasound field to be created.

7. The ultrasonic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the transmission hologram device is detachably coupled with the ultrasound source device.

8. The ultrasonic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the transmission hologram device is provided with at least one identification device selected from the group consisting of an optically readable marker and an electronic identification unit.

9. The ultrasonic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
at least one of the ultrasound source device and the transmission hologram device is provided with at least one alignment element.

10. The ultrasonic apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising
a power source device being arranged for supplying a driving current to the ultrasound source device, and
a waveform generator being coupled with the power source device and being arranged for controlling an amplitude waveform of the driving current.

11. The ultrasonic apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein
the waveform generator and the power source device are configured for driving the ultrasound source device such that the ultrasound wave is a continuous wave or a pulsed wave.

12. The ultrasonic apparatus according to claim 1 , further including
a support device carrying the ultrasound source device and comprising at least one of a handle, a probe head and an endoscope device.

13. The ultrasonic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the transmission hologram is a static component.

14. A method of creating a holographic ultrasound field in an object, wherein the ultrasonic apparatus according to claim 1 is used, comprising the steps of
arranging the ultrasonic apparatus in acoustic contact with the object, and
operating the ultrasonic apparatus such that the holographic ultrasound field is created in the object.

15. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the holographic ultrasound field is shaped for at least one of the following applications:
creating an ultrasound focus in the object,
creating an ultrasound image in the object,
bypassing a range in the object by the ultrasound,
ultrasound imaging of the object,
at least one of medical applications, pain treatment, High Intensity Focussed Ultrasonic (HIFU) therapy, treatment of biological tissue, and destroying kidney or bladder stones, and
ultrasound-based energy transmission.

Assignees

• Max Planck Gesellschaft
• Fraunhofer Ges Forschung

Inventors

• Melde Kai
• Fischer Peer
• Weber Peter-Karl

Classifications

• A61N2007/0078

  with multiple treatment transducers · CPC title

• A61N7/022

  intracavitary · CPC title

• A61B90/90

  Identification means for patients or instruments, e.g. tags · CPC title

• A61N7/02

  Localised ultrasound hyperthermia · CPC title

• G01N29/0663

  by acoustic holography (acoustical holography per se G03H3/00) · CPC title