阅读说明：本技术 用于有效地机械地施加超声波的超声设备 (Ultrasonic apparatus for efficiently mechanically applying ultrasonic waves ) 是由 维亚切斯拉夫·卡门科 于 2019-02-15 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种用于通过在比有效辐射区域(ERA)大的区域上机械地移动超声换能器来在治疗区域上有效地施加超声波的超声设备,包括：(a)超声换能器,所述超声换能器通过布线连接,所述超声换能器用于分散超声波；(b)电致动器,所述电致动器用于使曲柄自旋,其中,轴被偏心地附接到所述曲柄,以用于使所述换能器成圆形地可旋转地回旋。(The invention relates to an ultrasound device for effectively applying ultrasound waves over a treatment area by mechanically moving an ultrasound transducer over an area larger than an effective irradiation area (ERA), comprising: (a) an ultrasonic transducer connected by a wiring, the ultrasonic transducer being for dispersing ultrasonic waves; (b) an electric actuator for spinning a crank, wherein a shaft is eccentrically attached to the crank for circularly rotatably swirling the transducer.)

1. An ultrasound apparatus for efficiently applying ultrasound waves over a treatment region by mechanically moving an ultrasound transducer, comprising:

an ultrasonic transducer connected by a wire, the ultrasonic transducer being for dispersing ultrasonic waves;

a shaft for holding the transducer;

an electric actuator for spinning a crank, wherein the shaft is eccentrically attached to the crank for rotatably swirling the transducer in a circle;

a stabilizer for guiding the wiring of the ultrasonic transducer and for holding the shaft at an angle that reduces twisting of the wiring of the ultrasonic transducer when the actuator gyrates the transducer;

a first linear bearing for guiding a bottom portion of the stabilizer when the bottom portion slides up and down; and

a control unit logically connected to the electrical actuator, the control unit capable of receiving instructions from a user, and the control unit capable of controlling the swiveling of the ultrasound transducer by controlling the electrical actuator for executing the instructions.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a friction reducer and a second linear bearing for protecting the wiring and guiding the wiring through a corrective mechanism when the actuator gyrates the transducer.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein a single cable provides a continuous electrical connection from an input connector of the device to a moving ultrasound transducer for making multiple turns without damaging the cable.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein said electric actuator is driven by an electronic circuit or by directly applied electric power for swirling said ultrasound transducer in at least one direction with at least one type of motion, such as circular motion, linear motion, angular motion, spinning motion, vibration, or with a combination of said direction and type of motion pattern.

5. The device of claim 1, further comprising a connector having at least one BNC connector for connecting to the ultrasound device, wherein the entire connector assembly including non-BNC contacts is held in place by utilizing a BNC locking mechanism.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus can be embodied as a stand-alone device or can be incorporated into a larger, more comprehensive mechanical device.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a coupler implemented to change a speed, mode, torque, or amplitude of motion of the ultrasound transducer.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic transducer is directly attached to the electric actuator.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is used to avoid burns caused by high power ultrasound applied to the same part of the treatment area for longer than necessary.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein an electrically driven ultrasound transducer is used to increase blood flow in the treatment area due to the ability to perform motion in velocity amplitudes and patterns that cannot be performed manually.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electrically driven ultrasound transducer moves with a type of motion that generates its own low frequency waves that, coherently with the primary ultrasound carrier frequency, produce more efficient and more penetrating pulses that cannot be produced by a single frequency source.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the electrically driven ultrasound transducer reduces the difficulty of manual movement during the course of treatment.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a cosmetic treatment device. More particularly, the present invention relates to an ultrasound device for use in various therapeutic applications.

Background

To date, ultrasound is widely used in medicine, cosmetics, molding, wound treatment, pain relief, blood flow stimulation, skin treatment, and hydrotherapy. Ultrasound waves are applied to the human body via a handheld device or a stationary, fixed-position device that directly contacts the treatment area of the human body. There is a need for a convenient, easy to use and comfortable means to apply ultrasound effectively.

US2015297182 discloses a mechanically rotating intravascular ultrasound probe. This application discloses a prospective mechanical rotational intravascular ultrasound probe with small volume, high image resolution and good imaging stability. An intravascular ultrasound probe includes a catheter, an ultrasound transducer disposed at a forward end of a lumen of the catheter, and a drive device that drives the ultrasound transducer in mechanical rotation. The drive device is a micromotor disposed in the cavity of the catheter, comprising a rotor and a stator. The ultrasonic transducer is disposed on top of the rotor and is electrically connected to the rotor, and the rotor is also electrically connected to the stator. The catheter is a magnetic metal tube and the front end of the catheter is closed by an acoustic window having a spherical end and allowing the passage of the ultrasonic waves of the ultrasonic transducer. The acoustic window is filled with an ionic liquid having an ultrasonic couplant function. The ultrasound probe solves the problem of image rotation distortion when the catheter passes through a segment of a blood vessel with severe stenotic lesions or bends, and enables both forward scan imaging and side scan imaging of the vessel wall. However, the described probe is limited to rotation about its own axis. The ionic liquid acting as the second conductor also limits the power specifications and application types of the above-described transducers.

Since therapeutic ultrasound requires power specifications up to 1000 times that of diagnostic ultrasound, it would be desirable to propose a system without these drawbacks.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic apparatus for efficiently applying ultrasonic waves.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a non-surgical ultrasound apparatus that easily, automatically, and safely applies ultrasound waves to a patient.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automated ultrasound apparatus for cosmetic treatment.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

The present invention relates to an ultrasound apparatus for effectively applying ultrasound waves on a treatment region by mechanically moving an ultrasound transducer, comprising: (a) an ultrasonic transducer connected by a wiring, the ultrasonic transducer being for dispersing ultrasonic waves; (b) a shaft for holding the transducer; (c) an electric actuator for spinning a crank, wherein the shaft is eccentrically attached to the crank to rotatably swivel the transducer circularly; (d) a stabilizer for guiding the wiring of the ultrasonic transducer and for holding the shaft at an angle that reduces twisting of the wiring of the ultrasonic transducer when the actuator gyrates the transducer; (e) a first linear bearing for guiding a bottom of a stabilizer when the bottom slides up and down; and (f) a control unit logically connected to the electric actuator, capable of receiving instructions from a user, and capable of controlling the swiveling of the ultrasonic transducer by controlling the electric actuator for executing the instructions.

Preferably, the device further comprises a friction reducer and a second linear bearing for protecting the wiring and guiding it through the corrective mechanism when the actuator gyrates the transducer.

Preferably, a single cable provides a continuous electrical connection from the input connector of the device to the moving ultrasound transducer to make multiple turns without damaging the cable.

Preferably, the electric actuator is driven by electronic circuitry or by directly applied electric power to cause the ultrasound transducer to swivel in at least one direction in at least one type of motion (such as circular motion, linear motion, angular motion, spinning motion, vibration) or in a combination of said direction and type of motion patterns.

Preferably, the device further comprises a connector having at least one BNC connector for connecting to the ultrasound device, wherein the entire connector assembly including the non-BNC contacts is held in place by utilizing a BNC locking mechanism.

Preferably, the apparatus may be embodied as a stand-alone device or may be incorporated into a larger, more comprehensive mechanical device.

In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a coupler implemented to change a speed, mode, torque, or amplitude of motion of the ultrasound transducer.

In one embodiment, an ultrasonic transducer is directly attached to the electrical actuator.

In one embodiment, the device is used to avoid burns caused by high power ultrasound applied to the same part of the treatment area for longer than necessary.

In one embodiment, electrically driven ultrasound transducers are used to increase blood flow in the treatment area due to the ability to perform motion in velocity amplitudes and patterns that cannot be performed manually.

In one embodiment, an electrically driven ultrasound transducer moves with some type of motion that produces its own low frequency waves that are coherent with the main ultrasound carrier frequency to produce more efficient and more penetrating pulses that cannot be produced by a single frequency source.

In one embodiment, an electrically driven ultrasound transducer reduces the difficulty of manual movement during the course of treatment.

Drawings

By way of example only, some embodiments of the invention are schematically described herein using the accompanying drawings and specific references to details thereof.

In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a diagram of a hand-held ultrasound device for effectively applying ultrasound waves, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a diagram of some internal components of an ultrasound device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a diagram of an isometric view of some of the internal components of an ultrasound device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a diagram of a connector for an ultrasound device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The terms "front", "back", "lower", "upper", "bottom", "upper", "horizontal", "vertical", "right", "left", or any reference to a side or direction, are used throughout the specification for brevity only and are relative terms only, and are not intended to require a particular component orientation.

Ultrasound may be used for wound treatment, ulcer treatment, pain relief, blood flow stimulation, shaping, lipid lowering, cellulite lowering, skin treatment, and other applications for cosmetic or medical treatment, as is known in the art. Ultrasound waves can be applied to a patient by direct contact with the skin of the body treatment area, via a handheld device or a stationary, fixed-position device. However, the Effective Radiation Area (ERA) of an ultrasonic transducer is very slim. Thus, in order to apply an equal amount of energy to a region larger than the ERA of an ultrasound transducer, the transducer needs to be moved at a constant speed throughout the treatment region. Furthermore, due to the conical shape of the ultrasound beam, the focal area of the ultrasound beam is typically narrower than the ERA of the transducer, which requires a large amount of movement of the transducer to be effective, even when the treatment area is small. Let alone when high power ultrasound is applied to the same area over time, the absorption of the waves may cause the body part to heat up and be burned. The present invention introduces an ultrasonic apparatus for effectively applying ultrasonic waves over an area larger than the ERA of an ultrasonic transducer by being driven by an electric actuator that revolves the ultrasonic transducer to disperse the ultrasonic waves over an area larger than the ERA of the ultrasonic transducer, thereby protecting a customer from injury.

Fig. 1 is a diagram of a hand-held ultrasound device for effectively applying ultrasound waves, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The device 100 may be a handheld ultrasound device with a transducer 40 that may be gyrated. For example, the transducer 40 may be swiveled by an electrical actuator such as described with respect to fig. 2. When the operator holds the ultrasound device by gripping the handle 30 and aligns the transducer 40 with the body of the patient, the ultrasound transducer may be circularly convoluted while applying ultrasound waves. Thus, the transducer 40 effectively disperses the ultrasound waves over a larger area than the initial ERA of the transducer.

One of the features of the described device is to provide a continuous electrical connection to the ultrasound transducer 40 while allowing the device to make an infinite number of turns in a circular pattern without unduly twisting the electrical conductors. The driving electrical signal is typically formed as a high power RF signal before being converted to ultrasonic vibrations by the ultrasonic transducer, since therapeutic ultrasound may require the application of up to tens of watts of power. Thus, this signal conduction presents additional problems caused by the nature of the RF cable, which requires undisturbed coaxiality of the inner conductors. The implementation of sliding contacts can pose engineering challenges in terms of cost and reliability.

The simplest and most reliable approach would be to utilize a basic cable without any additional contacts. The following mechanism description enables single cable connectivity between a fixed input, such as connection point 99 in fig. 1, and a moving end, such as transducer 40, where the twist parameters of the cable can be calculated and adjusted as needed.

Figure 2 is a diagram of some internal components of an ultrasound device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As described with respect to fig. 1, ultrasound transducer 40 may have a stainless steel cover with PZT807 piezoelectric crystals or any other ultrasound transducer capable of directing ultrasound waves for human therapy. The ultrasonic transducers 40 may be connected by wiring. The wiring may be an RF cable or any other wiring capable of transmitting electrical signals to the transducer 40. The ultrasonic transducer 40 may be swiveled by the electric actuator 10. The actuator 10 may be, for example, a brushed or brushless electric motor, a stepper or servo motor, a solenoid, an angular or linear actuator, such as a Nema 17 stepper motor, or any other actuator capable of gyrating a transducer. In one embodiment, the actuator 10 may gyrate the transducer 40 in a circular pattern in any direction or in any other angular pattern. In one embodiment, the actuator 10 may swivel the transducer 40 in one direction and then switch the direction of rotation of the actuator 10 before completing one revolution. In other embodiments, the actuator 10 may vibrate the transducer 40 by rapidly changing the rotational direction of the actuator. According to other embodiments, combinations of vibration and rotation are also possible.

In one embodiment, as depicted in fig. 2, the actuator 10 may spin a crank 60, wherein the crank 60 has a shaft 62 pivotally and eccentrically attached to rotatably swivel the transducer 40. The transducer 40 may be attached to the shaft 62. Thus, when the actuator 10 spins, the crank 60 can spin as the eccentrically placed shaft 62 of the crank 60 makes a circular movement, which causes the transducer 40 to spin circularly. When the shaft 62 of the actuator spins, it can make a circular motion about the central axis of the actuator 10, which can cause the transducer to spin in the same circular pattern. This will allow the transducer 40 to swivel in a circular pattern in any direction or in any other angular pattern, by switching the direction of rotation of the actuator 10 before completing one revolution, or to vibrate by rapidly changing the direction of rotation of the actuator. In one embodiment, a combination of vibration and rotation is also possible. In one embodiment, proper displacement of the axes, i.e., the axis of the shaft 62 and the axis of the actuator 10, will allow the transducer to be moved in a circular pattern without overlapping the ultrasound beam focal zone, thus increasing the uniformity of the energy applied to the entire treatment region.

The device 100 of fig. 2 may also have a stabilizer 50, which stabilizer 50 may be used to stabilize the angle of the transducer 40 as the transducer 40 is spun and gyrated by the actuator 10. Stabilizer 50 may be a hollow tube made of metal or any other rigid material to guide the wiring of ultrasonic transducer 40. In one embodiment, the top of stabilizer 50 is inserted into shaft 62 and attached within shaft 62. When the shaft 62 moves the transducer 40, the stabilizer 50 may hold the shaft and the transducer 40 in a position perpendicular to the first linear bearing 90, which first linear bearing 90 guides the stabilizer 50 at the bottom, thus reducing twisting of the wiring attached to the ultrasound transducer 40. The first linear bearing 90 is held within the apparatus cover by its axis 91 so that the bearing is capable of angular movement about the axis 91. The angular movement of the bearing 91 holding the bottom side of the stabilizer 50 may have a much lower amplitude of angular movement when the stabilizer 50 repeats the circular movement imparted by the shaft 62 at its top side.

In one embodiment, as depicted in fig. 2, friction reducer 70 may be used to protect the movement of wiring 80. The friction reducer 70, i.e. the linear guide, may be a hollow tube made of metal or any other rigid material to guide the wiring of the ultrasonic transducer 40. In one embodiment, friction reducer 70 may be movably retained by second linear bearing 73. Thus, the wiring 80 may be protected in the friction reducer 70 while the friction reducer 70 slides up and down inside the second linear bearing 73 with the movement of the transducer 40.

Figure 3 is a diagram of an isometric view of some of the internal components of an ultrasound device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As described with respect to fig. 2, transducer cable 80 may travel through stabilizer 50 and may further travel through hollow shaft 62 to which the transducer is attached. The stabilizer 50 may be inserted in a first linear bearing 90, which first linear bearing 90 is able to rotate around its axis 91 in the equipment cover. The first linear bearing 90 may serve the purpose of the stabilizer 50 as a guide, as well as a first stage straightener for cable twisting. As shown in fig. 3, the maximum twist angle "d" of the cable will be defined by the equation tan (d) the radius of Movement (MR) of the shaft 62/the Length (LF) between the axis of the actuator and the axis 91 of the first linear bearing. By adjusting MR and LF, the desired maximum cable twist angle can be achieved. While the first linear bearing 90 reduces the left/right motion of the cable in the X direction caused by the X and Y movement paths, the second linear bearing 73 limits the up/down motion of the cable to only the Y direction. In the second stage, the correction of the cable movement in the Y direction is processed. The friction reducer 70 envelops the cable on the contact surface with the second linear bearing 73, thereby minimizing friction and protecting the cable. The distance between the two linear bearings 90 and 73 can affect the cable twist radius 87-by increasing the distance, the radius will also increase.

In addition to friction reducer 70, cable 80 is free to fold in a 180 degree arc with a desired radius up to a fixed point within the embodiment of the apparatus as depicted in fig. 2. As the cable moves in the Y direction, the arc may maintain its radius as its center displacement may be equal to half the amplitude of the cable Y direction motion.

Returning to fig. 1, the device 100 may have a control unit capable of receiving instructions, such as through the user interface 20. The user interface 20 may have buttons, a joystick, a screen, a touch screen, or any other user interface member. A control unit, which may also be logically connected to the electric actuator, may be able to control the rotation of the ultrasound transducer by controlling the electric actuator to execute instructions received from a user. The control unit may also be able to control the speed and angular amplitude of the transducer 40 in different ways to create different types of massage movements. In one embodiment, to allow for proper displacement of the axis, the control unit may control the transducer to move in a circular pattern without overlapping the ultrasound beam focal region, thereby increasing the uniformity of the energy applied to the entire treatment region.

In one embodiment, the ultrasound device may further comprise electronic circuitry to allow a user to control the speed of the movement, the amplitude and/or pattern of the ultrasound waves of the transducer. In one embodiment, the actuator may be directly driven by applying power to the electric actuator.

The described ultrasound device may help reduce the difficulty of manual movement during the course of treatment in use today. As mentioned above, the use of ultrasound equipment may provide a more even energy dispersion across the treatment area than the manually moved transducers used today.

In one embodiment, the ultrasound device may be used to increase blood flow in the treatment region due to the ability to perform motion in velocity amplitude and pattern. In one embodiment, the ultrasound device may gyrate the ultrasound transducer in a particular type of motion, such as vibration or other means, and it may generate its own low frequency waves (which are coherent with the main ultrasound carrier frequency), may generate more efficient and more penetrating pulses that cannot be generated by a single frequency source.

In one embodiment, the ultrasound device may have a coupler or coupler mechanism, such as a gear box, joystick, cam shaft, or any other mechanism for changing the speed, mode, torque, or amplitude of motion of the ultrasound transducer being swiveled by the actuator. Alternatively, the ultrasonic transducer may be directly attached to the electric actuator.

In one embodiment, the electrical actuator of the ultrasound device may be driven by electronic circuitry or directly applied electrical power to cause the ultrasound transducer to swivel in at least one direction in at least one type of motion, such as circular motion, linear motion, angular motion, spinning motion, vibration, or other types of motion or in a combination of different directions and types of motion.

Fig. 4 is a diagram of a connector for an ultrasound device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, a connector 200 with two BNC connectors 91-93 may be used to connect to an ultrasound device. The first BNC connector 91 may for example be used for connecting the RF signal feed point to the ultrasound transducer, while the second BNC connector 92 may for example be used for feeding power to the controller and the electric actuator. The connector may also have other contact points 93 for transmitting other signals to the ultrasound device. The ultrasound device may have a suitable connector at its bottom, such as the connection point 99 depicted in fig. 1, to receive the connector 200. In one embodiment, a lever, such as lever 94, may be attached to each BNC connector to easily lock the connector to the ultrasound device. Thus, the connector 200 may be attached to the bottom of the ultrasound device 100, and the joystick may be turned to lock the cable feeding the ultrasound device 100. Thus, the entire connector assembly 200 can be reliably attached and secured with an effective BNC locking mechanism.

While the foregoing description discloses many embodiments and specifications of the invention, they are described by way of illustration and should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention. The described invention can be put into practice with many modifications within the scope of the appended claims.