High Intensity Focused Ultrasound: What Is It?
In recent years, a revolutionary new treatment has been developed to help kill cancer using a high intensity focused ultrasound beam (HIFU) that all those interested in ultrasound technician training should learn about. These high intensity beams consist of super high frequency sound waves that have been created by a machine built for this purpose. These sound waves are aimed at the cells that cause cancer and are highly effective at destroying the cells.
In some ways this treatment is not new at all. Experimentation with HIFU have been happening for at least fifty years now, but it is only in the past decade or so that physicians have started to use it with more frequency and to specifically target cancer cells.
One of the benefits of HIFU is that by using this treatment you can reduce the side effects experienced by patients using conventional cancer treatements. It may also be a possible treatment for those suffering from inoperable forms of cancer. Still, the use of HIFU is still new and experimental, and there remains a lot to be learned about how effective it will be in the most serious cancer cases.
Currently, high intensity focused ultrasound is used most frequently on cancer cells that are grouped together in a single location, such a small group of tumors. It is less useful for patients where the cancer has spread beyond a single location. Furthermore, it is not effective for bone cancers.
How does it work? Well, the beams in HIFU cause a rise in temperature where the cells are, and it will cause cancer cell death through effectively restricting their access to oxygen. Some of the cancers that seem most receptive to this form of treatment include liver, kidney, and prostate cancers. However, it is not a globally accepted or used treatment. Most commonly it is used in the UK, several European countries, Japan, China and Russia. It is estimated that over 15,000 patients with prostrate cancer in Europe have benefited from this treatment (to learn more, click here).
However, the FDA has not yet approved it as a treatment in the United States, and it is largely considered experimental in the US at this stage.