Patent ID: 7128711

Claim:
A system for directing therapeutic acoustic energy to a target tissue region in a body of a patient during a therapeutic or diagnostic procedure, comprising: an acoustic transducer positionable outside of the patient's body for directing therapeutic acoustic energy emitted by the transducer to the target tissue region, the transducer laterally translatable and capable of at least one of pitch motion and roll motion; a positioner connected to the transducer for adjusting a position of the transducer, the position being both a location and an orientation of the transducer; a sensor fixed on the transducer such that a rotational orientation of the sensor is correlated to a rotational orientation of the transducer, the sensor adapted for measuring the position of the transducer, wherein the sensor is a tilt sensor, the tilt sensor generating signals related to at least one of a roll angle and a pitch angle of the transducer relative to one or more axes; and a processor coupled to the sensor for receiving signals from the sensor related to the measured position of the transducer, the processor coupled to the positioner for directing the positioner to adjust the position of the transducer during the procedure based at least in part on the signals received from the sensor.