Patent ID: 8512262

Claim:
A system to modulate one or more autonomic nerves in a patient utilizing transcutaneous ultrasound energy delivery, the system comprising: a processor configured to determine a position of a blood vessel from outside the patient to localize a treatment region next to the blood vessel containing the one or more nerves; a therapeutic energy device comprising a transducer for delivering ultrasound energy in a focused manner from outside the patient to traverse a skin of the patient to create a circumferential pattern surrounding the blood vessel; and a controller to selectively control an aiming of the transducer so that an energy-delivery direction of the transducer points at different target areas around the position of the blood vessel determined by the processor; wherein the processor is configured to (1) use the position of the blood vessel to compute a first coordinate for one of the target areas that has a probability of including the one or more nerves, and (2) compute a second coordinate for another one of the target areas that has a probability of including the one or more nerves, and wherein the controller is configured to control the transducer to shift the aiming of the transducer from the first coordinate for the one of the target areas to the second coordinate for the other one of the target areas around the blood vessel to deliver the ultrasound energy to the different target areas sequentially around the blood vessel.