HIFU Part 2: Uses for This Innovative New Ultrasound Technology

With the technology established for HIFU or High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (see part 1 of this series), more and more uses are being found for this innovative technology. In 2004, The Food and Drug Administration approved HIFU for to treat uterine fibroids, significantly broadening the treatment options for this disease.

Cancer Applications
But it is in the treatment of cancers that HIFU finds very broad application. It has been successfully applied in the destruction of solid tumors of the bone, brain, breast, liver, kidney and prostate, just to name only a few.

The earliest use of HIFU to destroy tumors was in the case of prostate cancer. The treatment is given trans-rectally and the results are reaching the same success rates as traditional surgery. These and other similar treatments for prostate cancer greatly reduce some of the common side effects that can accompany traditional surgery, including nerve damage and the impotence which can result.

Laying aside tumor destruction aside, one of the latest innovations for HIFU is using it in conjunction with cancer drugs. There is a class of cancer drugs that can be loaded into the tumor site, but will remain in a tight bundle until released by the application of HIFU. This reduces the systemic spread of the chemotherapy agent while maximizing its concentration at the tumor site. This methodology makes it easier to keep the medicine in one spot, increase the local concentration and keep the toxic burden on the body as low as possible. This minimizes the risks risks associated with traditional chemotherapy methodologies.

The brain is protected by a blood/brain barrier that makes it difficult for some substances to get to the brain, even if you want those substances to get to the brain. It has been discovered that an application of HIFU will temporarily disable the blood/brain barrier and let needed drugs get through to the brain.