Focused Ultrasound Therapy
Focused ultrasound is a therapeutic technology that could transform the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with the pre-malignant disease of actinic keratosis. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets in the body without damaging surrounding normal tissue.
How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces thermal ablation (burning) of the target tissue.
Advantages
The primary options for treatment of actinic keratosis include cryotherapy (freezing the effected tissue) or more invasive surgery. For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a noninvasive alternative to surgery with less risk of complications – such as like surgical wound healing or infection – at a lower cost. Focused ultrasound can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue, and it can be repeated, if necessary.
The recent work by Toosonix involves the use of a transducer device that is specifically designed to treat close to the skin, as it can be done with very low risk of having skin burns. This device has resulted in the recent CE Mark approval in Europe, so the Toosonix device is now covered for this and a variety of other medical and cosmetic indications.
Advantages
- Focused ultrasound is non-invasive, so it does not carry added concerns like surgical wound healing or infection.
- Focused ultrasound can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue.
- It can be repeated, if necessary.
Clinical Trials
At the present time, there are no clinical trials recruiting patients for focused ultrasound treatment of actinic keratosis.
Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement
Focused ultrasound treatment for actinic keratosis is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.
Notable Papers
Seyed Jafari SM, Cazzaniga S, Bossart S, Feldmeyer L, Pelloni L, van Rhyn M, Angermeier S, Adatto M, Hunger RE, Heidemeyer K. Efficacy Assessment of the High-Frequency High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound as a New Treatment for Actinic Keratosis. Dermatology. 2022;238(4):662-667. doi: 10.1159/000520536. Epub 2021 Dec 21.
Serup J, Bove T, Zawada T, Jessen A, Poli M. High-frequency (20 MHz) high-intensity focused ultrasound: New Treatment of actinic keratosis, basal cell carcinoma, and Kaposi sarcoma. An open-label exploratory study. Skin Res Technol. 2020 Nov;26(6):824-831. doi: 10.1111/srt.12883. Epub 2020 Jun 17.
Click here for additional references from PubMed.
