Real-Time US Imaging of HIFU Field and Applications to Focal Therapy of the Prostate

A new method of real-time US imaging of a HIFU field is evolving. Published at the 7th International Symposium on Therapeutic Ultrasound

November 10, 2020

Publication

S. Ben-Ezra, Y. Hertzberg, T. Sommer, A. Bar Masada, A. Volovick, D. Kopelman, D. Margel, and O. Katz

Background

The adoption of HIFU technology for various clinical applications is expected to get boost-up upon the introduction of an accurate, affordable, and intuitive guidance method. We present here a method for live imaging of the HIFU field by diagnostic ultrasound. The method can be helpful for various focal therapy applications, specifically for prostate focal therapy in which focal point localization and hot spot monitoring are highly desired to prevent adverse events.

The integrated transducer combines a therapeutic HIFU transducer with a diagnostic probe.

The acoustic field of a therapeutic transducer at 1 MHz. Left - hydrophone scan in degassed water, Right - live imaging of the HIFU field in a phantom (~ 10 fps) on top of a standard B-mode image.

Summary

A new method of real-time US imaging of a HIFU field is evolving. The method can be used safely during USgHIFU procedures to provide a live image of the treatment beam to the practitioner as well as focal point tracking and improvement in treatment efficacy and safety.

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