Focused Ultrasound Dream Machine Characteristics
Focused ultrasound can interact with tissues in a wide variety of ways in order to potentially treat a vast number of diseases. This can lead to a large number of devices being built, each customized for a single or a few applications. The Foundation recognizes that economies of scale can be achieved by constructing devices that treat numerous medical conditions, possibly with different modes of focused ultrasound from the same device. To that end, we have polled scientific, clinical, and industry experts to put together a list of ‘dream machine’ characteristics. It is our hope that we can encourage device manufacturers to build devices with these characteristics, lower the costs of manufacturing, and bring these technologies to as many patients as possible as quickly as possible.
See below for ‘dream machine’ characteristics for brain systems, body systems, and veterinary systems.
Focused Ultrasound Dream Machine Characteristics for a Brain System
The Focused Ultrasound Foundation envisions the perfect device for treating diseases of the brain as possessing the following qualities and capabilities:
The device should have:
- Portability
- Robotic positioning
- Electronic steering
- Aberration correction
- Integrated diagnostic imaging
- Real-time treatment monitoring, confirmation of target engagement, and cumulative dose map
- Operation at different frequencies
- MRI environment compatibility
- Integration with other brain imaging modalities (CT, MRI, fMRI, PET, etc)
- Treatment without head shaving
- Cavitation monitoring
- Stereotactic frame not required
The device should be able to perform:
- Thermal ablation (0.5-3 MHz, 100-1000 Watts, continuous wave, 5-30 second sonications, reach 65-70C at focus)
- Histotripsy (0.5-3MHz, peak negative pressure of 15-30 MPa at focus, 1% duty cycle, PRF 1-2Hz, 1-2 cycle pulses)
- Moderate hyperthermia (0.5-3 MHz, 100-500 Watts, continuous wave, increase temp to 42-43C for tens of minutes)
- Low intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) for
- Sonodynamic therapy (0.5-5 MHz, 2-5W/cm2 at target, 10% duty cycle, 10ms pulses, 5-20 minute sonication, with a sonosensitizer)
- Blood brain barrier opening (0.5-5MHz, mechanical index 1.5 Max, duty cycle 0.5-10/20%, stable cavitation of injected microbubbles)
- Neuromodulation (0.25-5MHz, millisecond pulses to continuous wave, peak pressure 0.1-3MPa)
Treatment parameters should include:
- Treatment envelope of the entire brain
- Ability to treat within 2-3mm of the inner table of the skull
- Maximum time to treat 3cc of 1 hour
- Spot size of 0.5x4mm minimum
Focused Ultrasound Dream Machine Characteristics for a Body System
The Focused Ultrasound Foundation envisions the perfect device for treating diseases of the body (non-head) as possessing the following qualities and capabilities:
The device should have:
- Portability
- Robotic positioning
- Electronic steering
- Integrated diagnostic imaging
- Image fusion with other image modalities (CT, MR, etc)
- Real-time treatment monitoring, confirmation of target engagement, and cumulative dose map
- Interchangeable transducers (specific for body/limb and for different frequencies/depths)
- Real-time motion compensation
- Acoustic energy transmission through the ribs
The device should be able to perform:
- Thermal ablation (1-3 MHz, 300-500 Watts, continuous wave, reach 65-70C at focus)
- Histotripsy (0.5-3MHz, peak negative pressure of 15-30 MPa at focus, 1% duty cycle, PRF 1-2Hz, 1-2 cycle pulses)
- Moderate hyperthermia (1-3 MHz, 300-500 Watts, continuous wave, increase temp to 42-43C for tens of minutes)
- Low intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) for
- Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) therapy (0.5-5 MHz, 2-5W/cm2 at target, 10% duty cycle, 10ms pulses, 5-20 minute sonication, with a sonosensitizer)
- Neuromodulation (0.25-5MHz, millisecond pulses to continuous wave, peak pressure 0.1-3MPa)
Treatment parameters should include:
- Treatment envelope of 3mm below the skin x 150 deep in the tissue, axial steering of 50mm
- Ability to treat within 2-3mm of the skin
- Treatment speed for 2 cm3/min (golf ball size treated in approximately 20 minutes)
- Spot size of 0.5x4mm
Veterinary Focused Ultrasound Dream Machine Characteristics
The Focused Ultrasound Foundation envisions the perfect device for treating small animal veterinary applications as possessing the following qualities and capabilities:
The device should have:
- The ability to be portable
- Robotic positioning
- Electronic steering
- Integrated diagnostic imaging
- Real-time treatment monitoring
- Real-time motion compensation
- Interchangeable transducers (specific for body, limb, or oral and for different frequencies/depths)
The device should be able to perform:
- Thermal ablation (1-3 MHz, 300-500 Watts, continuous wave, reach 65-70C at focus)
- Histotripsy (0.5-3MHz, peak negative pressure of 15-30 MPa at focus, 1% duty cycle, PRF 1-2Hz, 1-2 cycle pulses)
- Conformal hyperthermia (1-3 MHz, 300-500 Watts, continuous wave, increase temp to 42-43C for tens of minutes)
- Low intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) for applications such as sonodynamic therapy (0.3-1 MHz, 2-5W/cm2 at target, 10% duty cycle, 10ms pulses, 5-20 minute sonication, with a sonosensitizer)
Treatment parameters should include:
- Treatment envelope of 3mm below the skin x 60 deep in the tissue, axial steering of 25mm
- Treatment speed for 2 cm3/min (golf ball size treated in approximately 20 minutes)
- Minimum spot size of 0.5x4mm