Patent Document ID: 8206299
Application ID: 12887211
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for using a high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) probe to provide therapy to a peripheral nerve at a treatment site in a patient, the method comprising the steps of: (a) positioning, external to the body, (i) a HIFU therapy probe having a focal point, and (ii) an ultrasound imaging device in proximity to the peripheral nerve; (b) creating an image of the treatment site with the imaging device by generating a sequence of ultrasonic imaging pulses that propagate to the treatment site; (c) verifying the position of the focal point of the HIFU probe relative to the treatment site in the image created in step (b) using imaging ultrasound; (d) after said verifying, administering a dose of HIFU to the peripheral nerve to achieve a therapeutic effect; and (e) during said administering, synchronizing and pulsing an HIFU wave produced by the HIFU probe with respect to the imaging pulses such that the HIFU probe's focal point can be viewed in the image during treatment.