Abstract:

In the past two decades therapeutic ultrasound has obtained attention by the medical community as a tool to relieve arthritis, improve rehabilitation, and enhance wound healing processes. In the research realm, therapeutic ultrasound and its effects on tissue properties are currently being studied to great lengths. For example, researchers are assessing the ability of ultrasound for large molecule transdermal drug delivery, in targeted chemotherapy delivery to brain cancer, and cellular gene-transfer applications. Even though many applications of therapeutic ultrasound exist, the basic instrumentation has not changed much in the past 50 years. Here, we present a novel therapeutic ultrasound system we developed in our laboratory that is capable of producing acoustic power outputs well over the therapeutic range (greater than 50 W), lightweight (under 6 lb), portable (a foot print of 4×6×2 in.3), and rechargeable battery powered. The portable therapeutic ultrasound unit has the potential to replace plug-in medical systems and rf amplifiers used in research, both of which are bulky and burdensome. The portable system is capable of between-office and field service on its long lasting internal battery, making it especially useful for military, ambulatory, and house-call medical applications. [This research was supported by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and Transducer Engineering Inc.]