One of the effective methods of artery and vein occlusion used in experimental studies and in clinical practice for certain diseases is local exposure of vessels to high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). The wide use of this method in our country is limited by the lack of appropriate domestic equipment. At the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, in the Laboratory of Ultrasound Technologies of the Center for Advanced Research, a stand for HIFU effects on various biological objects has been developed. There is no experience in using this device in angiology yet. The purpose of our research was to study the possibility of using Medusa 008, a high-tech mobile medical device designed for ultrasound diagnosis and personalized HIFU therapy, to model vascular occlusion and stop blood flow during irradiation. Materials and methods. The object of the study is the femoral artery of a rabbit. The source of HIFU is Medusa 008, the high-tech mobile medical device designed for ultrasound diagnostics and personalized HIFU-therapy with radiation frequency of 2 MHz (prototype). The following irradiation modes were used in the research: irradiation duration - 50 ms, pause between exposures – 10 ms, number of pulses – 20, 30, 40. The following energy values corresponded to these modes: 58 J, 87 J, 116 J. Irradiation of the femoral artery of an anesthetized rabbit was performed percutaneously. We used ultrasound to visualize the arteries and measure the blood flow velocity. According to ultrasound data, after HIFU irradiation, blood flow in the artery stopped. The factor contributing to arterial occlusion is the cessation of blood flow during irradiation. A histological examination of the area of the irradiated artery revealed structural changes in all layers of the vascular wall. Results. HIFU irradiation with intensity of 87 and 116 J has a significant dose-dependent destructive effect on the muscular arterial wall. The more intense damaging irradiation (116 J) causes smooth muscle cell necrosis. The time of direct influence on the vessel wall structures did not exceed 3 sec. During the experiment, we found that HIFU in the used modes causes temperature increase up to 45–60 оC, which is enough for thermal damage of cells in the irradiation zone. Conclusion. Thus, as a result of the above experiments, it was shown that Medusa 008, the high-tech mobile medical device designed for ultrasound diagnostics and personalized HIFU-therapy can be used to simulate vascular occlusion.
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