Development of HIFU Treatment for Lower Extremity Varicose Veins

Abstract

High‐intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has recently been developed as a noninvasive therapeutic method. In our study, a novel noninvasive therapy with HIFU was proposed for occlusion of lower extremity varicose veins. The temperature increase caused by HIFU is used to occlude varicose veins. Occluded veins became fibrotic, resulting in complete recovery. Our final goal is the medical application of HIFU treatment for varicose veins. In this study, we attempted to occlude the veins of rabbits. Prior to venous occlusion experiments, the area heated by HIFU was investigated using bovine serum albumin (BSA) gel, which denatures at >70 °C. The results indicate that the size of the heated area mainly depends on intensity at the focal point and the exposure time. A tendency was also seen for the heated area to extend toward the transducer with increasing exposure time. In animal experiments, skin burns during HIFU exposure represented a critical problem. We therefore examined the safe range of HIFU intensities in abdominal exposure experiments before conducting venous occlusion experiments. The ultrasound frequency was 1.7 MHz. Intensity at the focal point was 900 W/cm2, and the exposure time was 20 s. Rabbits underwent chemical depilation and echo gel was applied to the exposed skin to fill the boundary gap. Target veins were compressed during HIFU exposure to avoid thermal dissipation, and hyaluronan water solution was injected between the veins and skin to maintain the distance between the skin and veins at ≥5 mm. Veins were then exposed to HIFU and occluded. The capability of HIFU treatment to occlude lower extremity varicose veins was verified by the present study.