The invention provides for a medical apparatus (200, 400, 500) comprising a high intensity focused ultrasound system (206). Machine executable instructions (260, 262, 264, 266, 408, 526) in a memory (250) cause a processor (244) to: receive (100) location data (252) descriptive of multiple sonication points (224, 226, 228, 230); determine (102) a sonication path (254) for each of the multiple sonication points using a geometric transducer element model (262); detect (104) an overlap region (256, 306) using the sonication path in the near field region; determine (106) transducer control commands (258) using the overlap region, wherein the transducer commands are operable to control the multiple transducer elements to reduce the deposition of ultrasonic energy in the overlap region during sonication of the two or more sonication points; and control (108) the high intensity focused ultrasound system using the transducer control commands.