Delivering Focused Ultrasound to Intervertebral Discs Using Time-Reversal.

Chronic low back pain causes more disability worldwide than any other condition and is thought to arise in part through loss of biomechanical function of degenerate intervertebral discs (IVDs). Current treatments can involve replacing part or all of the degenerate IVDs by invasive surgery. Our vision is to develop a minimally invasive approach in which high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is used to mechanically fractionate degenerate tissue in an IVD; a fine needle is then used to first remove the fractionated tissue and then inject a biomaterial able to restore normal physiologic function. The goal of this manuscript is to demonstrate the feasibility of trans-spinal HIFU delivery using simulations of 3-D ultrasound propagation in models derived from patient computed tomography (CT) scans. The CT data were segmented into bone, fat and other soft tissue for three patients. Ultrasound arrays were placed around the waist of each patient model, and time-reversal was used to determine the source signals necessary to create a focus in the center of the disc. The simulations showed that for 0.5 MHz ultrasound, a focus could be created in most of the lumbar IVDs, with the pressure focal gain ranging from 3.2-13.7. In conclusion, it is shown that with patient-specific planning, focusing ultrasound into an IVD is possible in the majority of patients despite the complex acoustic path introduced by the bony structures of the spine.

Patient Specific Simulation of HIFU Kidney Tumour Ablation.

High Intensity Focussed Ultrasound (HIFU) is emerging as a non-invasive treatment for localised renal tumours. However, challenges remain in the delivery of the treatment to tumours at depth, with clinical results showing a variation in the ablation efficacy. One clinical trial conducted at the Churchill hospital, Oxford, to investigate the applicability of HIFU for renal tumour ablation found that in 4/10 patients less than 5% of the tumour volume was ablated successfully. The current study looks at the role tissue geometry has on the resulting focal pressure and focal heating. CT scans from 4 patients within the trial were selected, who experienced 70%, < 5%, < 5% and 95% ablation of the target tumour. The CT scans were segmented into bone, fat, kidney, and generic tissue. Full three-dimensional ultrasound simulations were carried out using k-Wave (an open source Matlab toolbox) and for three patients a tight focus was achieved in the kidney but peak pressures varied by 20%. While in the fourth patient there was significant fragmentation of the -6 dB focal volume due to the intervening ribcage. Thermal simulations were used to compare the temperature rise induced across the different patient models. For the three patients with a tight focus, the predicted 47°C iso-volume of the patient with 70% ablation was 2-3 times larger than the two patients with < 5% ablation. For the patient in which the ribcage resulted in focal fragmentation the thermal simulation predicted just a 1°C temperature rise.

Layered acoustofluidic resonators for the simultaneous optical and acoustic characterisation of cavitation dynamics, microstreaming, and biological effects.

The study of the effects of ultrasound-induced acoustic cavitation on biological structures is an active field in biomedical research. Of particular interest for therapeutic applications is the ability of oscillating microbubbles to promote both cellular and tissue membrane permeabilisation and to improve the distribution of therapeutic agents in tissue through extravasation and convective transport. The mechanisms that underpin the interaction between cavitating agents and tissues are, however, still poorly understood. One challenge is the practical difficulty involved in performing optical microscopy and acoustic emissions monitoring simultaneously in a biologically compatible environment. Here we present and characterise a microfluidic layered acoustic resonator (µLAR) developed for simultaneous ultrasound exposure, acoustic emissions monitoring, and microscopy of biological samples. The µLAR facilitates in vitro ultrasound experiments in which measurements of microbubble dynamics, microstreaming velocity fields, acoustic emissions, and cell-microbubble interactions can be performed simultaneously. The device and analyses presented provide a means of performing mechanistic in vitro studies that may benefit the design of predictable and effective cavitation-based ultrasound treatments.

Magnetic targeting to enhance microbubble delivery in an occluded microarterial bifurcation.

Ultrasound and microbubbles have been shown to accelerate the breakdown of blood clots both in vitro and in vivo. Clinical translation of this technology is still limited, however, in part by inefficient microbubble delivery to the thrombus. This study examines the obstacles to delivery posed by fluid dynamic conditions in occluded vasculature and investigates whether magnetic targeting can improve microbubble delivery. A 2D computational fluid dynamic model of a fully occluded Y-shaped microarterial bifurcation was developed to determine: (i) the fluid dynamic field in the vessel with inlet velocities from 1-100 mm s-1 (corresponding to Reynolds numbers 0.25-25); (ii) the transport dynamics of fibrinolytic drugs; and (iii) the flow behavior of microbubbles with diameters in the clinically-relevant range (0.6-5 µm). In vitro experiments were carried out in a custom-built microfluidic device. The flow field was characterized using tracer particles, and fibrinolytic drug transport was assessed using fluorescence microscopy. Lipid-shelled magnetic microbubbles were fluorescently labelled to determine their spatial distribution within the microvascular model. In both the simulations and experiments, the formation of laminar vortices and an abrupt reduction of fluid velocity were observed in the occluded branch of the bifurcation, severely limiting drug transport towards the occlusion. In the absence of a magnetic field, no microbubbles reached the occlusion, remaining trapped in the first vortex, within 350 µm from the bifurcation center. The number of microbubbles trapped within the vortex decreased as the inlet velocity increased, but was independent of microbubble size. Application of a magnetic field (magnetic flux density of 76 mT, magnetic flux density gradient of 10.90 T m-1 at the centre of the bifurcation) enabled delivery of microbubbles to the occlusion and the number of microbubbles delivered increased with bubble size and with decreasing inlet velocity.

Preliminary Single-Center Canadian Experience of Human Normothermic Ex Vivo Liver Perfusion: Results of a Clinical Trial.

After extensive experimentation, outcomes of a first clinical normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) liver trial in the United Kingdom demonstrated feasibility and clear safety, with improved liver function compared with standard static cold storage (SCS). We present a preliminary single-center North American experience using identical NMP technology. Ten donor liver grafts were procured, four (40%) from donation after circulatory death (DCD), of which nine were transplanted. One liver did not proceed because of a technical failure with portal cannulation and was discarded. Transplanted NMP grafts were matched 1:3 with transplanted SCS livers. Median NMP was 11.5 h (range 3.3-22.5 h) with one DCD liver perfused for 22.5 h. All transplanted livers functioned, and serum transaminases, bilirubin, international normalized ratio, and lactate levels corrected in NMP recipients similarly to controls. Graft survival at 30 days (primary outcome) was not statistically different between groups on an intent-to-treat basis (p = 0.25). Intensive care and hospital stays were significantly more prolonged in the NMP group. This preliminary experience demonstrates feasibility as well as potential technical risks of NMP in a North American setting and highlights a need for larger, randomized studies.

Liver Transplantation After Ex Vivo Normothermic Machine Preservation: A Phase 1 (First-in-Man) Clinical Trial.

The number of donor organs suitable for liver transplantation is restricted by cold preservation and ischemia-reperfusion injury. We present the first patients transplanted using a normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) device that transports and stores an organ in a fully functioning state at 37°C. In this Phase 1 trial, organs were retrieved using standard techniques, attached to the perfusion device at the donor hospital, and transported to the implanting center in a functioning state. NMP livers were matched 1:2 to cold-stored livers. Twenty patients underwent liver transplantation after NMP. Median NMP time was 9.3 (3.5-18.5) h versus median cold ischaemia time of 8.9 (4.2-11.4) h. Thirty-day graft survival was similar (100% NMP vs. 97.5% control, p = 1.00). Median peak aspartate aminotransferase in the first 7 days was significantly lower in the NMP group (417 IU [84-4681]) versus (902 IU [218-8786], p = 0.03). This first report of liver transplantation using NMP-preserved livers demonstrates the safety and feasibility of using this technology from retrieval to transplantation, including transportation. NMP may be valuable in increasing the number of donor livers and improving the function of transplantable organs.

Ultrasound-induced inertial cavitation from gas-stabilizing nanoparticles.

The understanding of cavitation from nanoparticles has been hindered by the inability to control nanobubble size. We present a method to manufacture nanoparticles with a tunable single hemispherical depression (nanocups) of mean diameter 90, 260, or 650 nm entrapping a nanobubble. A modified Rayleigh-Plesset crevice model predicts the inertial cavitation threshold as a function of cavity size and frequency, and is verified experimentally. The ability to tune cavitation nanonuclei and predict their behavior will be useful for applications ranging from cancer therapy to ultrasonic cleaning.

Nonlinear acoustic properties of ex vivo bovine liver and the effects of temperature and denaturation.

Thermal ablation by high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has a great potential for the non-invasive treatment of solid tumours. Due to the high pressure amplitudes involved, nonlinear acoustic effects must be understood and the relevant medium property is the parameter of nonlinearity B/A. Here, B/A was measured in ex vivo bovine liver, over a heating/cooling cycle replicating temperatures reached during HIFU ablation, adapting a finite amplitude insertion technique, which also allowed for measurement of sound-speed and attenuation. The method measures the nonlinear progression of a plane wave through liver and B/A was chosen so that numerical simulations matched the measured waveforms. To create plane-wave conditions, sinusoidal bursts were transmitted by a 100 mm diameter 1.125 MHz unfocused transducer and measured using a 15 mm diameter 2.25 MHz broadband transducer in the near field. Attenuation and sound-speed were calculated using a reflected pulse from the smaller transducer using the larger transducer as the reflecting interface. Results showed that attenuation initially decreased with heating then increased after denaturation, the sound-speed initially increased with temperature and then decreased, and B/A showed an increase with temperature but no significant post-heating change. The B/A data disagree with other reports that show a significant change and we suggest that any nonlinear enhancement in the received ultrasound signal post-treatment is likely due to acoustic cavitation rather than changes in tissue nonlinearity.

Real-time temperature estimation and monitoring of HIFU ablation through a combined modeling and passive acoustic mapping approach.

Passive acoustic mapping (PAM) has been recently demonstrated as a method of monitoring focused ultrasound therapy by reconstructing the emissions created by inertially cavitating bubbles (Jensen et al 2012 Radiology 262 252-61). The published method sums energy emitted by cavitation from the focal region within the tissue and uses a threshold to determine when sufficient energy has been delivered for ablation. The present work builds on this approach to provide a high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment monitoring software that displays both real-time temperature maps and a prediction of the ablated tissue region. This is achieved by determining heat deposition from two sources: (i) acoustic absorption of the primary HIFU beam which is calculated via a nonlinear model, and (ii) absorption of energy from bubble acoustic emissions which is estimated from measurements. The two sources of heat are used as inputs to the bioheat equation that gives an estimate of the temperature of the tissue as well as estimates of tissue ablation. The method has been applied to ex vivo ox liver samples and the estimated temperature is compared to the measured temperature and shows good agreement, capturing the effect of cavitation-enhanced heating on temperature evolution. In conclusion, it is demonstrated that by using PAM and predictions of heating it is possible to produce an evolving estimate of cell death during exposure in order to guide treatment for monitoring ablative HIFU therapy.

Cavitation and contrast: the use of bubbles in ultrasound imaging and therapy.

Microbubbles and cavitation are playing an increasingly significant role in both diagnostic and therapeutic applications of ultrasound. Microbubble ultrasound contrast agents have been in clinical use now for more than two decades, stimulating the development of a range of new contrast-specific imaging techniques which offer substantial benefits in echocardiography, microcirculatory imaging, and more recently, quantitative and molecular imaging. In drug delivery and gene therapy, microbubbles are being investigated/developed as vehicles which can be loaded with the required therapeutic agent, traced to the target site using diagnostic ultrasound, and then destroyed with ultrasound of higher intensity energy burst to release the material locally, thus avoiding side effects associated with systemic administration, e.g. of toxic chemotherapy. It has moreover been shown that the motion of the microbubbles increases the permeability of both individual cell membranes and the endothelium, thus enhancing therapeutic uptake, and can locally increase the activity of drugs by enhancing their transport across biologically inaccessible interfaces such as blood clots or solid tumours. In high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) surgery and lithotripsy, controlled cavitation is being investigated as a means of increasing the speed and efficacy of the treatment. The aim of this paper is both to describe the key features of the physical behaviour of acoustically driven bubbles which underlie their effectiveness in biomedical applications and to review the current state of the art.

Role of acoustic cavitation in the delivery and monitoring of cancer treatment by high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU).

Acoustic cavitation has been shown to play a key role in a wide array of novel therapeutic ultrasound applications. This paper presents a brief discussion of the physics of thermally relevant acoustic cavitation in the context of high-intensity focussed ultrasound (HIFU). Models for how different types of cavitation activity can serve to accelerate tissue heating are presented, and results suggest that the bulk of the enhanced heating effect can be attributed to the absorption of broadband acoustic emissions generated by inertial cavitation. Such emissions can be readily monitored using a passive cavitation detection (PCD) scheme and could provide a means for real-time treatment monitoring. It is also shown that the appearance of hyperechoic regions (or bright-ups) on B-mode ultrasound images constitutes neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for inertial cavitation activity to have occurred during HIFU exposure. Once instigated at relatively large HIFU excitation amplitudes, bubble activity tends to grow unstable and to migrate toward the source transducer, causing potentially undesirable pre-focal damage. Potential means of controlling inertial cavitation activity using pulsed excitation so as to confine it to the focal region are presented, with the intention of harnessing cavitation-enhanced heating for optimal HIFU treatment delivery. The role of temperature elevation in mitigating bubble-enhanced heating effects is also discussed, along with other bubble-field effects such as multiple scattering and shielding.