Focused Ultrasound Therapy
Focused ultrasound is a rapidly evolving, noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT). This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the body without damaging surrounding normal tissue.
How it Works
The focused ultrasound produces precise ablation (thermal destruction) of the thrombotic tissue where the beams converge. This technique may enable DVT to be treated noninvasively.
Advantages
The primary options for treatment of DVT include medication and for some patients minimally invasive surgery may also be needed.
For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a noninvasive alternative to surgery with less risk of complications – such as surgical wound healing or infection – at a lower cost. Focused ultrasound can also reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue, and it can be repeated, if necessary.
Clinical Trials
At the present time, there are no clinical trials recruiting patients for focused ultrasound treatment for DVT.
Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement
Focused ultrasound treatment for DVT is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.
Notable Papers
Chen J, Yang Y, Li Y, Xu L, Zhao C, Chen Q, Lu Y. Targeted microbubbles combined with low-power focused ultrasound promote the thrombolysis of acute deep vein thrombosis. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2023 Mar 16;11:1163405. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1163405. eCollection 2023.
Dadgar MM, Hynynen K. High-Pressure Low-Frequency Lateral Mode Phased-Array Transducer System for the Treatment of Deep Vein Thrombosis: An In Vitro Study. IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control. 2022 Mar;69(3):1088-1099. doi: 10.1109/TUFFC.2022.3141871. Epub 2022 Mar 2.
Dadgar MM, Hynynen K. High Power Phased-array Transducer Module for the Construction of a System for the Treatment of Deep Vein Thrombosis. IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control. 2020 Jul 24;PP. doi: 10.1109/TUFFC.2020.3011666.
Acconcia CN, Jones RM, Hynynen K. Receiver array design for sonothrombolysis treatment monitoring in deep vein thrombosis. Phys Med Biol. 2018 Nov 28;63(23):235017. doi: 10.1088/1361-6560/aaee91. PMID: 30484436
Goudot G, Mirault T, Arnal B, Boisson-Vidal C, Le Bonniec B, Gaussem P, Galloula A, Tanter M, Messas E, Pernot M. Pulsed cavitational therapy using high-frequency ultrasound for the treatment of deep vein thrombosis in an in vitro model of human blood clot. Phys Med Biol. 2017 Nov 21;62(24):9282-9294. doi: 10.1088/1361-6560/aa9506.
Acconcia CN, Jones RM, Goertz DE, O’Reilly MA, Hynynen K. Megahertz rate, volumetric imaging of bubble clouds in sonothrombolysis using a sparse hemispherical receiver array. Phys Med Biol. 2017 Aug 8. doi: 10.1088/1361-6560/aa84d7.
Smirnov P, Hynynen K. Design of a HIFU array for the treatment of deep venous thrombosis: a simulation study. Phys Med Biol. 2017 May 9. doi: 10.1088/1361-6560/aa71fb.
Yang W, Zhou Y. Effect of pulse repetition frequency of high-intensity focused ultrasound on in vitro thrombolysis. Ultrason Sonochem. 2017 Mar;35(Pt A):152-160. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2016.09.014.
Zhang ZM, Lai EC, Zhang C, Yu HW, Liu Z, Wan BJ, Liu LM, Tian ZH, Deng H, Sun QH, Chen XP. The strategies for treating primary hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombus. Int J Surg. 2015 Aug;20:8-16. doi: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2015.05.009.
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