Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is an early-stage, noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with chronic cervicitis. 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
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces precise ablation (thermal destruction of tissue) enabling chronic cervicitis to be treated without surgery. While significant work has been accomplished, there is still much to be done before this technology will be widely available.

Advantages
The primary options for treatment of chronic cervicitis include medication or surgical procedures.

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. It can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue and is repeatable, if necessary. It also protects the physiological functions and biological structure of the cervix and is considered a safe treatment with no scars and a low recurrence rate.

Clinical Trials

At the present time, there are no clinical trials recruiting patients for focused ultrasound treatment of cervicitis.

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement

Focused ultrasound treatment for cervicitis is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.

Notable Papers

Li CZ, Wang ZB, Yang X, Tang Y, Wang D, Huang Y, Fan XF. Feasibility of focused ultrasound therapy for recurrent cervicitis with high-risk human papillomavirus infection. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Nov;34(5):590-4. doi: 10.1002/uog.7357.

Lin ZY, Xu J, Wang HY, Lu MH. [Improvement of cervical microenvironment after treatment of chronic cervicitis with focused ultrasound in infertility women]. Zhejiang Da Xue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban. 2007 Sep;36(5):454-7. Chinese.

Zhang L, Zhang W, Orsi F, Chen W, Wang Z. Ultrasound-guided high intensity focused ultrasound for the treatment of gynaecological diseases: A review of safety and efficacy. Int J Hyperthermia. 2015 May;31(3):280-4. doi: 10.3109/02656736.2014.996790.

Click here for additional references from PubMed.