Patent ID: 7591996

Claim:
A method for selectively occluding blood flow in a blood vessel, comprising the steps of: (a) selecting a target location in the blood vessel, the target location corresponding to a portion of the blood vessel in which an occlusion of blood flow in the blood vessel is desired; and (b) selectively damaging endothelial cells proximate to the target location, such that a fibrin clot develops proximate to the damaged endothelial cells, thereby at least partially occluding blood flow in the blood vessel, where the endothelial cells proximate to the target location are damaged using at least one technique selected from a group consisting of: (i) introducing an ultrasound contrast agent into the blood vessel proximate to the target location, and using focused ultrasound to deliver acoustical energy to the ultrasound contrast agent at the target location, where an amount of acoustical energy delivered is sufficient to induce cavitation in the ultrasound contrast agent at the target location, but insufficient to thermally damage tissue proximate to the target location, the endothelial cells being damaged by mechanical forces associated with the cavitation thus induced; and (ii) mechanically damaging the endothelial cells using a catheter that has been introduced into the blood vessel.