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MRI‐Guided High‐Intensity Focused Ultrasound as an Emerging Therapy for Stroke: A Review
Author(s) -
Zafar Atif,
Quadri Syed A.,
Farooqui Mudassir,
OrtegaGutiérrez Santiago,
Hariri Omid R.,
Zulfiqar Maryam,
Ikram Asad,
Khan Muhammad Adnan,
Suriya Sajid S.,
NunezGonzalez Joel R.,
Posse Stefan,
Mortazavi Martin M.,
Yonas Howard
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of neuroimaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1552-6569
pISSN - 1051-2284
DOI - 10.1111/jon.12568
Subject(s) - medicine , stroke (engine) , high intensity focused ultrasound , clinical trial , focused ultrasound , magnetic resonance imaging , intensive care medicine , ultrasound , radiology , pathology , mechanical engineering , engineering
Stroke, either ischemic or hemorrhagic, accounts for significantly high morbidity and mortality rates around the globe effecting millions of lives annually. For the past few decades, ultrasound has been extensively investigated to promote clot lysis for the treatment of stroke, myocardial infarction, and acute peripheral arterial occlusions, with or without the use of tPA or contrast agents. In the age of modern minimal invasive techniques, magnetic resonance imaging‐guided high‐intensity focused ultrasound is a new emerging modality that seems to promise therapeutic utilities for both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. High‐intensity focused ultrasound causes thermal heating as the tissue absorbs the mechanical energy transmitted by the ultrasonic waves leading to tissue denaturation and coagulation. Several in‐vitro and in‐vivo studies have demonstrated the viability of this technology for sonothrombolysis in both types of stroke and have warranted clinical trials. Apart from safety and efficacy, initiation of trials would further enable answers regarding its practical application in a clinical setup. Though this technology has been under study for treatment of various brain diseases for some decades now, relatively very few neurologists and even neurosurgeons seem to be acquainted with it. The aim of this review is to provide basic understanding of this powerful technology and discuss its clinical application and potential role as an emerging viable therapeutic option for the future management of stroke.