High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) uses sound waves to kill cancer cells, as opposed to other therapies which pass through bones or air and pass unharmed into your system. As it doesn’t do that, HIFU can be used in places that other treatments cannot.
This treatment helps many patients reduce tremors, though it’s not a permanent solution. Furthermore, it may help address other urological conditions, like an enlarged prostate.
HIFU is used to treat cancer
HIFU utilizes high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) to kill cancerous cells without harming normal tissue. The method focuses ultrasound energy to a small area within the body, with its beam consisting of thermal and mechanical (cavitation) effects; its temperature being higher than surrounding tissue temperatures to cause localized coagulation and necrosis of cancerous cells – an advantage over other cancer treatments which often leads to damage reduction for healthy tissue, reduced side effects and shorter hospital stays.
HIFU treatment is administered by trained healthcare professionals such as urologists or oncologists. A special ultrasound probe is placed directly over a cancerous spot found by either CT scanning or MRI. Once in position, ultrasound waves delivered via HIFU will heat it up and destroy cancerous cells while stopping further growth. Furthermore, this procedure is less invasive than surgery and can even be completed at local hospitals or clinics near patients wishing to avoid surgery altogether – making HIFU an attractive option for people living with metastatic prostate cancer who wish to avoid surgery or any other treatments such as surgery or radiotherapy treatment plans.
HiFU can also be used to treat lymphatic malignancies through lymphatic venous anastomis (LVA). This involves creating tiny shunts between lymphatic channels and blood vessels to deposit fluid directly into the bloodstream – bypassing damaged or blocked areas in the lymphatic system and carrying away cancerous cells with ease.
HIFU treatments involve lying back on your back while being placed under medical supervision while the probe is placed against the area of cancerous tumour. General anaesthesia or sedation may be administered, to make you sleepy during treatment. Depending on the type of cancer and location, treatment could either take place in an operating theatre or radiology department.
Your next steps might include having a biopsy to ascertain if the cancer has spread, and then repeat HIFU or another form of treatment to stop its return. HIFU may be combined with chemotherapy or surgery treatments; additionally it could even be used to help patients suffering from nerve disorders.
HIFU is used to treat bladder cancer
High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) therapy is an innovative noninvasive cancer therapy using ultrasound waves to destroy tumor cells without harming nearby tissue. HIFU therapy offers less-invasive options than surgery or radiation and is an ideal treatment choice for patients looking for alternative incision-free options, while being less painful and needing shorter hospital stays than traditional cancer therapies. HIFU can be an excellent treatment choice for prostate cancer as well as many other forms of malignancy.
HIFU works on the principle of ultrasound ablation, achieved by focusing ultrasound energy in a concentrated region no larger than several millimeters in size and applying thermal and cavitation effects of ultrasound onto specific cells to cause damage or necrosis in that location. This approach to treatment allows doctors to reach deeper-seated targets that cannot be reached with traditional surgery alone.
HIFU has predominantly been utilized to treat prostate cancer; however, more recently it has also become a widely sought after method of treating brain lesions and tumors. Ultrasound guidance is typically utilized; however magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided HIFU provides superior visualization and targeting accuracy than ultrasound guidance alone.
HIFU has been widely utilized for treating various neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease or involuntary movements caused by cerebral vascular accidents. Furthermore, it can also help alleviate phantom pain associated with brain injury. Unfortunately, some patients develop new tumours following treatment with HIFU; such cases will require either surgery or radiotherapy for removal.
HIFU may not be suitable for every patient as some tumors are too close to nearby organs, which may increase complications like erectile dysfunction and rectourethral fistula formation – though most patients tolerate this procedure well and resume normal lives within weeks of completion of treatment.
HIFU is used to treat kidney cancer
Under HIFU, doctors insert an ultrasound probe into the rectum and release sound waves that target tumors with soundwaves that raise their temperature – effectively killing cancer cells while leaving surrounding tissues undamaged. The entire procedure takes only hours under general anesthesia; patients usually can return home shortly afterwards.
Sound waves offer many advantages over traditional surgery for treating kidney cancer, including precision ablation with minimal tissue damage and less painful recovery times, making this approach attractive to individuals looking to avoid more invasive surgical options.
HIFU uses more powerful sound waves than those employed in diagnostic ultrasound; however, these waves remain safe and do not cause adverse side effects. When considering whether HIFU would be suitable for you, one factor to take into account is your tumor size – too large an mass may not be treatable with this approach.
HIFU can deliver targeted heat without harming nearby tissues by channeling its sound waves through imaging modalities that enable doctors to visualize and track their treatment, including ultrasound-guided focused ultrasound (USgFUS and MRgFUS).
One drawback of HIFU is its inability to penetrate dense materials such as prostate calcifications. This can lead to undertreatment and potentially serious complications; additionally, if these calcifications reflect sound waves back towards the rectum and cause unwanted heat transference to other parts of their body.
HIFU can be used to treat many different kinds of kidney tumors and is often combined with chemotherapy to increase its efficacy. While HIFU provides an alternative to surgery and other traditional treatments, it might not be ideal for everyone depending on factors like your age and health history – discuss this treatment option with your physician for the best advice.
HIFU is used to treat uterine cancer
HIFU technology uses ultrasound waves to penetrate to the inner walls of a tumor and destroy cancerous cells without harming surrounding tissue, providing a minimally invasive alternative to surgery with significantly fewer side effects than radiation therapy treatments.
HIFU uses ultrasound devices equipped with piezoelectric transducers and electronic steering to precisely focus the ultrasound beam at its focal point and to minimize tissue irritation or bruising. It may be used both hospital-side and at home; its purpose being the treatment of conditions like benign ovarian cysts, endometriosis, and fibroids.
HIFU therapy is a non-painful procedure that doesn’t require general anesthesia. Instead, the physician inserts a small probe into your rectum before sending out ultrasound waves that penetrate to cancerous cells and increase temperature locally, killing them while leaving healthy surrounding tissue undamaged. The entire process generally takes one or two hours but may cause bladder swelling which could make emptying difficult or cause blood in urine to leak out from time to time.
Studies of 54 women diagnosed with uterine fibroids demonstrated the efficacy of HIFU therapy for treating pelvic adhesions and decreasing CA-199 levels, leading to reduced frequency of recurrences and longer overall survival than patients not receiving this therapy.
During HIFU surgery, you’ll lie on your back on a specially-made table equipped with a water bath, which sends out focused ultrasound waves through its watery depths to reduce nerve damage risk. Furthermore, each device comes equipped with its own imaging system that monitors your progress throughout the procedure.
In the control group, dye liquid was filled into tumor microvessels to visualize them under anatomical microscope. Following HIFU ablation, the dye liquid no longer appeared within tumor microvessels; more than 75% of tumor stain disappeared following treatment with this procedure.
