The Expanding Role of Focused Ultrasound in Medicine

Focused ultrasound (FUS) is a non-invasive technique in medicine that uses high-intensity ultrasound waves to treat tissues or tumors in the body without the use of incisions or radiation. Although its invention was primarily used for essential tremors (a neurological condition that causes involuntary movements) and uterine fibroids (benign tissue overgrowths in the uterus), the technology has further evolved into different fields of medicine, providing patients with the best treatment possible.

FUS has significantly impacted several medical fields, including oncology. FUS has increasingly been used to remove tumors in the body non-invasively. For example, it has helped treat patients with prostate, breast, and liver cancers by directly delivering heat to the tumor tissues, killing the invasive tissues and leaving the healthy ones. Researchers are also exploring the possibility of using FUS as a tool to allow for more effective chemotherapy or immunotherapy treatments for brain tumors by enhancing drug delivery and disrupting the blood-brain barrier.

Another condition that benefits from FUS is musculoskeletal disorders. Musculoskeletal disorders are conditions that affect the bones, muscles, ligaments, or nerves. FUS techniques help treat painful joint conditions by targeting pain receptors or inflamed tissues, reducing pain in the body and improving their function.

One of the most significant fields FUS has contributed to is neurology. FUS provides treatment to those affected by Parkinson’s Disease and essential tremors, which cause involuntary movements of the body due to progressive nerve cell death. It does so by creating small lesions that disrupt the malfunctioning neural circuits. Patients report experiencing immediate tremor reduction.

Written by Sofia Bonilla at Incisionary

APA References

Elias, W. J., Lipsman, N., Ondo, W. G., Ghanouni, P., Kim, Y. G., Lee, W., ... & Chang, J. W. (2016). A randomized trial of focused ultrasound thalamotomy for essential tremor. New England Journal of Medicine, 375(8), 730-739. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1600159

Fini, M., & Tyler, W. J. (2017). Transcranial focused ultrasound: A new tool for non-invasive neuromodulation. International Review of Psychiatry, 29(2), 168-177. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2017.1282436

Hynynen, K., McDannold, N., Vykhodtseva, N., & Jolesz, F. A. (2001). Noninvasive MR imaging–guided focal opening of the blood-brain barrier in rabbits. Radiology, 220(3), 640-646. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2202001804

Kennedy, J. E. (2005). High-intensity focused ultrasound in the treatment of solid tumours. Nature Reviews Cancer, 5(4), 321-327. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc1591