Transcostal High Intensity Focused Ultrasound for the Treatment of Cancer
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Department Name: Engineering Science
Abstract
The efficacy of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for the non-invasive treatment of cancer has been clearly demonstrated for a range of different cancers including those of the liver, prostate and breast. As a non-invasive focal therapy, HIFU offers considerable advantages over other techniques such as chemotherapy and surgery, in terms of invasiveness and risk of harmful side-effects. Despite its advantages, however, there are a number of significant challenges currently hindering its widespread clinical application, specifically: the need to transmit energy through the rib cage and the associated risk of skin burns and damage to the rib surface, the effects of organ motion on treatment accuracy, a poor understanding of cavitation processes in vivo and, finally, the lack of effective techniques for real-time image guidance and treatment monitoring. The overall objective of the research programme described in this document is to develop practical solutions for these issues. Successful completion of this proposal will result in a prototype clinical device for the safe and effective HIFU treatment of tumours of the liver, kidney and pancreas that has undergone preclinical testing and conforms to the necessary safety standards for patient use.
Organisations
Publications
Webb IR
(2011)
The effect of temperature and viscoelasticity on cavitation dynamics during ultrasonic ablation.
in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
Webb IR
(2011)
Effect of temperature on rectified diffusion during ultrasound-induced heating.
in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
WEBB I
(2010)
Dynamics of gas bubbles in time-variant temperature fields
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Ritchie R
(2013)
Attenuation and de-focusing during high-intensity focused ultrasound therapy through peri-nephric fat.
in Ultrasound in medicine & biology
Nandlall S
(2012)
Determination of cytotoxic thermal dose during HIFU ablation
Labouret S
(2010)
Shear-rate dependence of viscosity for improved modeling of cavitation dynamics in visco-elastic media.
in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
Jensen CR
(2013)
Real-time temperature estimation and monitoring of HIFU ablation through a combined modeling and passive acoustic mapping approach.
in Physics in medicine and biology
Jensen CR
(2012)
Spatiotemporal monitoring of high-intensity focused ultrasound therapy with passive acoustic mapping.
in Radiology
Jackson EJ
(2014)
Nonlinear acoustic properties of ex vivo bovine liver and the effects of temperature and denaturation.
in Physics in medicine and biology
Description | 1. Cavitation-enhanced heating offers significant advantages over non-cavitation-enhanced heating for non-invasive tumour ablation 2. The cavitation threshold of tissues at 4 different frequencies has been characterized for the very first time, both in non-perfused and perfused tissue 2. A novel technique, developed as part of my Challenging Engineering award (EP/F011547/1), could provide a novel low-cost method for monitoring ablation in real time 3. Real-time control of cavitation also provides an opportunity to minimize energy delivery to the patient for ablation of a particular tumour volume |
Exploitation Route | Arising patents have been licensed to Oxford spin-out OxSonics for integration into next-generation ultrasound surgery devices. |
Sectors | Healthcare |
Description | Intellectual property developed as part of this award contributed to the creation of University spin-out OxSonics in 2014, developing novel devices for ultrasound-mediated drug delivery and non-invasive surgery. The information gleaned over the course of this award about the challenges of transcostal ultrasound delivery has been implemented in the development of SonoTran, a novel platform for ultrasound-mediated drug delivery to the liver. |
First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
Sector | Healthcare |
Impact Types | Societal Economic |
Title | ULTRASOUND SYSTEMS |
Description | A sensing system for sensing the condition of an object comprises a transducer arranged to generate pressure waves directed at the object and detection means, such as a pressure wave detector, arranged to detect cavitation or other processes in the object. The system further comprises processing means arranged to receive detection signals from the detection means, to process the detection signals to measure a signal parameter of the detection signals that varies with a parameter of the object, and may generate a sensor output that varies in response to changes in the signal parameter. |
IP Reference | WO2011036485 |
Protection | Patent application published |
Year Protection Granted | 2011 |
Licensed | Yes |
Impact | Being incorporated within a medical product currently being developed by the licensee. |