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Safety Issues for HIFU Transducer Design

2005; American Institute of Physics; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1063/1.1901645

1935-0465

Gérard Fleury,

Ultrasound Imaging and Elastography

In contrast with most ultrasound modalities for medical applications, (especially ultrasound imaging), High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) involves technologies and procedures which may present risk to the patient. These risks, resulting from the high power levels required for effective therapy, should be taken into account at the earliest stages in the design of a system dedicated to HIFU treatment. An understanding of these risks must thus be shared amongst the many players in the field of therapy using high power ultrasound. Moreover, since the number of applications of HIFU has increased appreciably over recent years and the technology is ready to move from the research to the industrial level, it is worth now considering solutions that should be put in place to guarantee the safety of the patient during HIFU treatment. This paper reports thoughts on this, identifies some risks to the patient that must be taken into consideration in the design of HIFU transducers, and proposes some solutions that could prevent the deleterious consequences of transducer misuse or failure. For the main risks identified, such as exceeding the desired acoustic power or poor control of tissue targeting, a description of transducer performance that could potentially result in problems is systematically sought. This allows proposals for precautions to be taken during operation to be made. Parameters which should be monitored to ensure safe use are also suggested.This type of approach, which should be undertaken for the different components of a therapeutic system, highlights the challenges that must be faced in the immediate future for the development and safe exploitation of HIFU systems. The necessity for standard definitions of the parameters to be checked or monitored during HIFU treatments is crucial in this approach, as is the availability of reliable dedicated measurement devices. Co‐ordinated action on these topics in the HIFU community would contribute to the demonstration of the safe use of high power ultrasound in therapy, thus enhancing the chance of its recognition by medical and institutional organisations.