Patent ID: 8617073

Claim:
A method of delivering multimode ultrasound waves to a target through at least one tissue layer defining a first interface and a second interface, the waves having a shear component and a longitudinal component through the at least one tissue layer, the method comprising the steps of: using a processor, assigning the waves to one of at least two regimes based at least in part on an incident angle of the waves at the first interface, the first regime corresponding to an incident angle smaller than a first threshold angle and the second regime corresponding to an incident angle equal to or greater than a second threshold angle; using the processor, assigning weighting factors to the longitudinal and shear components of the waves based on the regimes to which the waves are assigned, the weighting factor of the shear component of a wave having a value of zero if the wave is assigned to the first regime and the weighting factor of the longitudinal component of a wave having a value of zero if the wave is assigned to the second regime; using the processor, computing phase shifts associated with the shear component and the longitudinal component; based on the weighting factors and the phase shifts, computing, using the processor, a weighted sum of the longitudinal and shear components so as to determine a total phase shift; and compensating for the total phase shift-when delivering the ultrasound waves.