Patent attributes
Methods for performing non-invasive thrombolysis with ultrasound using, in some embodiments, one or more ultrasound transducers to focus or place a high intensity ultrasound beam onto a blood clot (thrombus) or other vascular inclusion or occlusion (e.g., clot in the dialysis graft, deep vein thrombosis, superficial vein thrombosis, arterial embolus, bypass graft thrombosis or embolization, pulmonary embolus) which would be ablated (eroded, mechanically fractionated, liquefied, or dissolved) by ultrasound energy. The process can employ one or more mechanisms, such as of cavitational, sonochemical, mechanical fractionation, or thermal processes depending on the acoustic parameters selected. This general process, including the examples of application set forth herein, is henceforth referred to as “Thrombolysis.”