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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.