Tissue Destruction
Mechanisms of Action
Where the focused ultrasound beams converge, there are 30 identified mechanisms of action – or bioeffects – that enable the technology to treat multiple medical disorders. Learn more about the more advanced mechanisms of action below.
Focused ultrasound is a platform technology that can interact with the body in a number of different ways. It can produce both mechanical and thermal energy, and may deliver this energy through either high or low pressure waves. These various focused ultrasound applications induce a wide range of bioeffects on the treated tissue. Some effects like tissue destruction and clot lysis are permanent, while others such as blood-brain barrier opening and neuromodulation are transitory and reversible. Multiple types of ultrasound applications may produce the same bioeffect, further enhancing focused ultrasound’s versatility in the treatment of disease.
Current research related to the various mechanisms of action is also available in Chapter 3 in the 2024 State of the Field Report.
Mechanisms of Action: Learn more about Mechanisms of Action:
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Drug Delivery
Drug Delivery
Drug delivery
Drug Delivery
Blood-brain barrier opening
Focused ultrasound can be used to increase the permeability of the blood-brain barrier – a protective layer of tightly joined cells that line the blood vessels of the brain to prevent harmful toxins from entering. This technique is noninvasive and temporary, enabling the delivery of beneficial drugs to the brain in higher concentrations.
Drug Delivery
Increased vascular permeability
Immunomodulation
Immunomodulation
Hyperthermia
Immunomodulation
Immunomodulation
Immunomodulation
Immune cell trafficking
Neuromodulation
Neuromodulation
Neuromodulation
Other
Other
Vasoconstriction
Other
Vascular occlusion
Other
Stem cell trafficking
Other
Liquid biopsy
Other
Kidney Stone Propulsion
Other
Kidney Stone Fragmentation
Other
Hemostasis
Other
Cardiac pacing
Other
Angiogenesis
Other
Radiosensitization
Other
Chemosensitization
Other
Enhanced Glymphatic Drainage
Other
Amplification of cancer biomarkers
Other
Vasodilation
Other