An exemplary catheter includes a catheter body, a first conductive member comprising a first material positioned on the catheter body, a second conductive member comprising a second material different from the first material positioned on the catheter body, one or more electrical joints configured to electrically couple the first conductive member to the second conductive member, and one or more shock wave emitters. Each shock wave emitter is configured to generate a shock wave, and at least one shock wave emitter of the one or more shock wave emitters comprises electrodes separated by a spark gap, wherein at least one of the electrodes is formed from the second conductive member.

An ultrasonic irradiation device includes: an ultrasonic irradiator configured to irradiate ultrasound; a detector configured to acquire cavitation information from the body; and a processor configured to control the ultrasonic irradiator, based on the acquired cavitation information, to irradiate ultrasound to a focal point for an irradiation area of a body or to not irradiate ultrasound.

An exemplary catheter includes a catheter body, a first conductive member comprising a first material positioned on the catheter body, a second conductive member comprising a second material different from the first material positioned on the catheter body, one or more electrical joints configured to electrically couple the first conductive member to the second conductive member, and one or more shock wave emitters. Each shock wave emitter is configured to generate a shock wave, and at least one shock wave emitter of the one or more shock wave emitters comprises electrodes separated by a spark gap, wherein at least one of the electrodes is formed from the second conductive member.

An ultrasonic irradiation device includes: an ultrasonic irradiator configured to irradiate ultrasound; a detector configured to acquire cavitation information from the body; and a processor configured to control the ultrasonic irradiator, based on the acquired cavitation information, to irradiate ultrasound to a focal point for an irradiation area of a body or to not irradiate ultrasound.

A histotripsy device may include a headset configured to be mounted to an about a cranium of a human or animal, at least one transducer mounted to the headset and positioned such that, with the headset mounted to and about the cranium, the at least one transducer is positioned over and in contact with at least one temporal or suboccipital region of the cranium, wherein the at least one transducer is configured to emit focused radiation in at an ultrasonic frequency or frequency range, at least one processor, and at least one memory having instructions stored therein executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to activate the at least one transducer to produce at least one pulse of ultrasonic radiation having a pulse duration of 1 milliseconds or longer.

A device for ultrasound assisted thrombolysis includes a catheter, a first ultrasound module, a second ultrasound module and a controller. The first and second ultrasound modules are mounted in the catheter and electrically connected to the controller. The first ultrasound module is provided to transmit ultrasonic waves toward a thrombus to assist thrombolysis. The second ultrasound module is provided to transmit ultrasonic waves toward the thrombus for measuring a distance between the catheter and the thrombus. The controller is provided to control the first and second ultrasound modules according to the distance.

An exemplary catheter for generating shock waves includes a catheter body; an enclosure mounted to the catheter body; an emitter band positioned at least partially around the catheter body and within the enclosure; and at least three electrodes positioned adjacent to the emitter band and spaced apart from the emitter band by respective spark gaps, the at least three electrodes together with the emitter band forming electrode pairs of at least three shock wave emitters of the emitter band, wherein at least one of the at least three shock wave emitters can be driven separately from at least one other of the at least three shock wave emitters.

A system and method is provided for generating ultrasound at the tip of an intravascular catheter. This may be used for the treatment of vascular occlusions, including chronic total occlusions (CTOs) and thrombotic occlusions (e.g., deep vein thrombosis, stroke, myocardial infarction). For instance, the systems and methods may be used to induce cavitation to enhance the enzymatic degradation of a vascular occlusion. In some configurations, the approach employs a hollow cylindrical transducer, electrically stimulated in the radial direction at a frequency corresponding to the length mode excitation, thereby projecting ultrasound forwards past the catheter tip. This design overcomes electrical impedance issues for the generation of low frequencies with a smaller diameter transducer capable of negotiating a coronary artery. The hole within the transducer may accommodate a guidewire to facilitate its placement adjacent to the proximal portion of the occlusion.

An exemplary catheter includes a catheter body, a first conductive member comprising a first material positioned on the catheter body, a second conductive member comprising a second material different from the first material positioned on the catheter body, one or more electrical joints configured to electrically couple the first conductive member to the second conductive member, and one or more shock wave emitters. Each shock wave emitter is configured to generate a shock wave, and at least one shock wave emitter of the one or more shock wave emitters comprises electrodes separated by a spark gap, wherein at least one of the electrodes is formed from the second conductive member.

Medical device systems and methods for using medical devices/systems are disclosed. An example medical device system may include a system for treating a calcified blood vessel. The system may include an elongate catheter shaft having a distal end region. A plurality of imaging transducers may be disposed along the distal end region of the elongate catheter shaft. A plurality of ablation transducers may be disposed along the distal end region of the elongate catheter shaft and positioned adjacent to the plurality of imaging transducers. The plurality of ablation transducers may include ablation transducers spaced circumferentially around the elongate catheter shaft, ablation transducers axially-spaced along the elongate catheter shaft, or both ablation transducers spaced circumferentially around the elongate catheter shaft and ablation transducers axially-spaced along the elongate catheter shaft.