Archive for November, 2010

The Marriage of MRI and Focused Ultrasound Generates New Surgical and Therapeutic Techniques

A new alternative to invasive surgery has been found in MRgFUS (Magnetic Resonance Imaging guided Focused Ultrasound), which combines advanced ultrasound machine technologies with MRI. This new technique is also being used as an alternative to radiation therapy and way to deliver drugs with extreme precision, all of which will mean faster recovery and better outcomes for patients.

Like many other recent advances in ultrasound technology, MRgFUS will undoubtedly be a catalyst for change in many fields of healthcare. By using very high frequency ultrasound waves, it will allow doctors to perform delicate surgeries without an incision or anesthesia. Ablating tumors and tissues externally reduces the risk of infection and other complications while improving patient outcomes, and it can even be performed on an outpatient basis. Most patients can resume their normal activities within a few days.

MR-guided ultrasound machine surgery works by concentrating a multitude of intersecting beams of energy on a target that is as tiny as one mm in diameter with extreme precision. It can be used to identify very specific tissues to be targeted and treat those areas in real time, while also providing instant confirmation on a treatment’s effectiveness.

Three areas where MR-guided focused ultrasound will be used include tissue ablation, targeted drug delivery and dissolving clots. Tissue ablation using MRgFUS allows doctors to destroy tumors and other tissues without altering any surrounding tissues, and it can do this with far greater precision than radiation therapy. As a drug-delivery technique, MR-guided focused ultrasound concentrates a specific drug formula, such as chemotherapy agents, antibiotics or genes, directly to the tissues where they are needed, which prevents systemic toxicity. For dissolving clots, MRgFUS can rapidly remove any obstructions to blood flow in a patient’s arteries, thereby minimizing the destructive effects from a stroke or coronary artery disease.

Ultrasound Machine Tags: Portable Ultrasound, portable ultrasound machines, Ultrasound Machines, Used Medical Equipment

Charting the Growth of Ultrasound Technology

Any healthcare provider who has been practicing medicine for more than 10 years, and uses ultrasound technology, has seen an enormous change in the way ultrasound machines are used today – especially when compared to what was available in the 1950s and 60s. The advancements in technology within this field of medicine have far outpaced other types of imaging, and have even become a surgical and therapeutic tool.

Over the past fifteen years, ultrasound has grown to become useful in several medical specialties, including cardiology and surgery, and has even been used to deliver important cancer drugs at the cellular level. Ever since the introduction of Doppler ultrasound machines and after rapid advancements in image processing, ultrasound has become the “go-to” tool for the diagnosis of such illnesses as abdominal aortic aneurysm and deep vein thrombosis. As a result, many medical equipment designers have started to use ultrasound in tools for cardiology, pediatrics, urology and vascular surgery.

While there is still a place in the diagnostic imaging field for other modalities, such as CT scans, MRI and PET scans, the enhanced capabilities of ultrasound make it the gold standard in many ways. For example, 3-D and 4-D ultrasound imaging are now used as a tool for hip-replacement surgery. Doppler ultrasound is used to measure myocardial functioning by using an echocardiogram to see how quickly blood is moving through an area. These are just a few ways in which ultrasound has grown beyond its origins in obstetrics.

Even though portable ultrasound machines have grown and expanded so quickly, researchers are finding more ways to develop it further. One application that is still being tested is called elastography, a new type of test that may become a substitute for biopsies, particularly those that distinguish between benign and malignant tissues. Ultrasound-guided surgery using the same technique will soon be used to guide surgeons in removing any cancerous tissue that remains after an ablation.

Ultrasound Machine Tags: Portable Ultrasound, portable ultrasound machines, Ultrasound Machines, Used Medical Equipment