High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) works similarly to magnifying sunrays to spark fire, transporting energy through US waves in tissue media to precisely destroy tissue with noninvasive heat treatment and reduce varicose veins. HIFU therapy may help manage any existing conditions by targeting only areas causing discomfort rather than trying to eliminate all.
Radiation therapy may not be available in every hospital and you may have to travel for specialist centers; additionally, it only treats certain cancers and conditions.
HIFU for Prostate Cancer
HIFU can be an effective treatment option for prostate cancer that has not spread outside the prostate gland. Additionally, it may be used as salvage therapy in cases when other treatment has failed; typically offered to men who are low risk of the cancer spreading using criteria like PSA nadir or D’Amico risk stratification; in these instances HIFU could also serve as an alternative to surgery or radiotherapy treatments.
Under focal HIFU, your doctor inserts a thin tube (catheter) directly into either your bladder through its penis or urethra through the wall of your lower abdomen, connected to a drain to allow urine to drain from it until all swelling has subsided. Once that has happened, they use their high intensity ultrasound machine (HIFU machine) to send high intensity ultrasound beams into your prostate tissue and destroy any cancerous cells – typically taking three hours.
The ultrasound machine uses high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) beams to target areas affected by prostate tumors. A cooling balloon on the end of each probe protects healthy tissue from being damaged during treatment; your surgeon can move their probe around inside your prostate to target different spots as needed.
Your bladder may feel full more frequently after having had HIFU performed; this should get better over time. Your catheter will be taken out at another appointment and antibiotic tablets may be prescribed in order to prevent infections in the area.
After receiving HIFU therapy, some men experience an initial spike in their PSA levels; this should quickly return to normal and is an indicator that treatment has worked effectively. You must undergo regular PSA tests after treatment has completed to make sure no cancer recurs.
If you are considering HIFU for prostate cancer treatment, your GP will discuss its possible advantages and risks with you as well as confirming whether it’s available locally and refer you to a specialist if necessary.
HIFU for Breast Cancer
High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has proven an effective and noninvasive solution for treating both benign and malignant breast tumours. HIFU treatment is painless and causes no collateral damage to surrounding normal tissue [1, 2]. During an HIFU procedure, an ultrasound transducer is placed against the tumor to convert ultrasound energy into heat at its target site resulting in rapid necrosis of tumor tissue and protein denaturation within seconds resulting in its collapse and protein denaturation within minutes of being placed against its surface [1, 2].
In addition to cancer ablation, HIFU has also been shown to alleviate cancer-related pain. This relief comes from local tumor cell destruction, fibrosis of the tumour mass and shrinkage as well as control of nociceptive nerves. The pain control mechanism includes interaction between cavitation pressure, shear stress and cell permeability which leads to disruption of membrane and dysfunction of stretch activated ion channels resulting in pain reduction.
MRI-guided HIFU has been demonstrated to produce a coagulative necrosis of target tissues, with an approximately 1.5-2 cm margin of normal breast tissue around the tumour [3, 4]. To operate, the device must be guided using an image-guided system like an ultrasound machine equipped with an image-guided unit (USI). The USI has a therapeutic beam which can be focused onto desired target tissue; and then connected via degassed water circulation unit to the USI and the HIFU device itself.
Recent studies demonstrated that HIFU ablation of breast tumors can be accomplished with minimal side effects, including pain and oedema. 48 patients diagnosed with biopsy-proven breast cancer were randomly assigned either lumpectomy or HIFU therapy and six months later core needle biopsies confirmed complete ablation with healthy margins in 79% of them.
HIFU can usually be performed as an outpatient procedure and only requires sedation or general anesthesia for safety and tolerability, with no adverse side effects reported during or following treatment. Medicare currently covers this treatment option through C-code hospital outpatient departments; private insurers may offer similar coverage.
HIFU for Skin Cancer
High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), an effective noninvasive solution for premalignant and malignant skin lesions, employs sound waves to target and destroy tumours. By heating tissue with focused ultrasonic waves, HIFU causes thermal damage.
HIFU can be used to treat cancerous basal cell carcinoma (BCC) of the skin as well as non cancerous growths known as fibroids in the womb. Treatment typically entails lying down on an HIFU table equipped with a water bath and disc at its base; this disc emits ultrasound waves which focus on lesion while at the same time transmitting them throughout nearby tissues. In terms of technology used, an ultrasound power unit generates and regulates ultrasound signals; there are several handpieces featuring transducers; in addition a control computer allows users to manage treatment settings effectively.
HIFU treatment can be conducted under intravenous sedation or general anaesthesia. An imaging probe attached to the handpiece allows positioning over the tumour or surrounding areas for monitoring real-time US images and real-time guidance of beams from HIFU transducer, with its longitudinal axis intersecting the 2D US imaging plane for real-time guidance of beams.
Preclinical studies conducted using 20 MHz HIFU have demonstrated its efficiency and safety in heating lesion tissue while simultaneously protecting healthy surrounding tissue from damage, making this treatment method ideally suited for clinical practice compared with alternatives like lasers.
Studies on patients with multiple recurrent BCCs confirmed by histology and clinical examination found HIFU to be effective at clearing away lesions, with 25 shots administered to address all 25 lesions.
TOOsonix System ONE-M was used for this treatment of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). With its integrated imaging probe, this new HIFU system ensures precise alignment of its therapeutic transducer with its imaging transducer for effective penetration deep into skin layers without interference by air-containing structures such as major keratosis or scaling on its surface.
HIFU for Vascular Diseases
HIFU can also be used to treat vascular diseases like atherosclerosis and peripheral Artery Disease (PAD). As a noninvasive technique, HIFU allows doctors to accurately target diseased tissues while leaving healthy tissues alone unaffected. By doing this, doctors can destroy plaque that accumulates in arteries while the body’s natural mechanisms clear away damaged areas – in fact HIFU has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood clots levels.
HIFU therapy works on the principle of focused ultrasound, which directs high-intensity sound waves toward a specific location. Acoustic energy is transmitted into this area using a transducer containing thousands of piezoelectric crystals; once hitting its target area, this energy creates bubbles within tissue which expand and contract creating heat; this is called “acoustic cavitation”, damaging cells while stimulating healing through cell necrosis and necrosis.
High-intensity focused ultrasound energy also creates acoustic shock waves to break up blood vessel clots, helping prevent stroke and heart attack thrombotic events. Numerous in vivo studies have also shown how HIFU may also be used to treat occlusive arterial disease by increasing vessel wall permeability.
Uddin et al conducted a study using HIFU as a treatment option for PAD after biochemical failure of EBRT for men who had a PSA nadir of + 2ng/ml with low to intermediate risk for progression, using whole-gland salvage HIFU with Sonablate 500 system at two centers by three experienced surgeons; two year survival without treatment failure was found to be 73%; grade Group 2 or higher PCa recurrences were avoided in 91%.
Before your HIFU procedure, an imaging test such as an MRI or ultrasound may be necessary. Your healthcare provider will then use a HIFU device to treat the area needing treatment; typically prostate cancer in men or rectal cancer or fibroids in women. You may receive sedation or an epidural for the procedure to help make you comfortable during it – although you will remain conscious throughout.