| abstract |
Methods, apparatus, systems, and embodiments for induction heating of exogenous metal implants are disclosed. The exogenous metal implant can be heated via an AMF pulse to ensure that the surface of the exogenous metal implant generates heat uniformly. As the surface temperature of the exogenous metal implant increases, an acoustic signature may be detected by the acoustic sensor that may indicate that the tissue may be exothermic to an undesirable level close to the boiling point. Once these acoustic signatures are detected, the AMF pulse can be stopped for a period of time to cool the surface temperature of the implant before applying the next AMF pulse. In this way, the surface temperature of the exogenous metal implant can be uniformly heated to a temperature sufficient to treat the bacterial biofilm accumulated on the surface of the exogenous metal implant without damaging the surrounding tissue. . AMF pulse treatment can be combined with an anti-bacterial / anti-bacterial treatment regimen to reduce the time and / or anti-bacterial dose required to remove the biofilm from the metal implant. |