Abstract
Real-time monitoring of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) surgery is essential for safe and accurate treatment. However, ultrasound imaging is difficult to use for treatment monitoring during HIFU surgery because of the high intensity of the HIFU echoes that are received by an imaging transducer. Here, we propose a real-time HIFU treatment monitoring method based on pulse inversion of imaging ultrasound; an imaging transducer fires ultrasound twice in 0° and 180° phases for one scanline while HIFUs of the same phase are transmitted in synchronization with the ultrasound transmission for imaging. By doing so, HIFU interferences can be eliminated after subtracting the two sets of the signals received by the imaging transducer. This function was implemented in a commercial research ultrasound scanner, and its performance was evaluated using the excised bovine liver. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed method allowed ultrasound images to clearly show the echogenicity change induced by HIFU in the excised bovine liver. Additionally, it was confirmed that the moving velocity of the organs in the abdomen due to respiration does not affect the performance of the proposed method. Based on the experimental results, we believe that the proposed method can be used for real-time HIFU surgery monitoring that is a pivotal function for maximized treatment efficacy.
Highlights
High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has attracted considerable attention as a non-invasive surgical tool; its applications range from cancer to brain disease treatment such as Alzheimer’s disease [1,2] and cosmetic treatment such as skin tightening [3,4]
We have proposed the HIFU interference cancellation method using pulse inversion, which does not have a constraint on HIFU pulse length theoretically [16,17]
In this paper, we propose another approach to HIFU interference rejection using pulse inversion
Summary
High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has attracted considerable attention as a non-invasive surgical tool; its applications range from cancer to brain disease treatment such as Alzheimer’s disease [1,2] and cosmetic treatment such as skin tightening [3,4]. In an intra-operative session, either MRI or ultrasound is used for safe and accurate treatment guidance: estimation of temperature in treatment area [5,6], HIFU focus targeting [7,8] and motion tracking [9,10], each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Compared to MRI, ultrasound imaging is the preferred guidance method for HIFU focus targeting and motion tracking because these functions require real-time imaging capability. This method has the ability to monitor lesion change in real time in response to HIFU [11]
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