Patent ID: 7722539

Claim:
A method for using high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) to treat undesired tissue by damaging selected vascular regions to affect a viability of the undesired tissue, without directly targeting the undesired tissue with the HIFU, comprising the steps of: (a) using imaging ultrasound to visualize an appropriate treatment site associated with the vascular system of a patient to be treated, so that damage of the treatment site will negatively affect the viability of the undesired tissue, by reducing blood flow to the undesired tissue; (b) positioning a HIFU therapy device such that a focal point of the HIFU therapy device is directed to the treatment site; (c) energizing the HIFU therapy device to disrupt the vascular system at the treatment site, thereby reducing blood flow to the undesired tissue and negatively affecting the viability of the undesired tissue; and (d) generating a plurality of ultrasound images during HIFU therapy, such that HIFU noise does not prevent the treatment site from being visualized in the plurality of ultrasound images, an interval between sequential ultrasound images being sufficiently small such that from a user's perspective, the sequence of ultrasound images provides real-time imaging during HIFU therapy.