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High Intensity Focused Ultrasound for the Treatment of Prostate Cancer |
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Its Sound Medicine. Its Sound Results. Its Sound Advice. Its Ultrasound!
 Ultrasound is an oscillating sound wave that occurs at a frequency that is not discernable to the human ear. Just like with audible sound waves, there are repeating peaks and troughs in the wave that determine its frequency. The height of the waves is a measure of its amplitude and this relates to the power of the wave. As a sound wave moves forward, there is also a pressure wave that moves forward along with it. As the sound wave continues forward, it loses some of the energy force driving it; ultimately being completely dissipated. Anything that disrupts the propagation of the wave causes energy to be released. This can occur uniformly as the wave moves forward or suddenly at any point along its course as the wave tries to continue along its predetermined path. As the energy of the wave is depleted, the spent energy is converted into heat. With typical ultrasound, the temperature changes associated with release of this energy is negligible. However, if many ultrasound waves with enough energy behind them are focused on a spot in such a way that their energy is simultaneously released, the energy that is released in this spot can lead to a significant rise in temperature.
High Intensity Focused Ultrasound is what the name implies. It is highly energized, high frequency sound waves that are all focused on a single spot. The accompanying pressure waves collide with one another, releasing a tremendous amount of energy instantaneously. This released energy is converted into heat causing the temperature to immediately rise. For prostate cancer, the temperature is allowed to rise to 100 degrees Centigrade (boiling!), which leads to death of the cancer. Furthermore, the oscillating nature of the waves produces rapid fluctuations between high pressures and low pressures within the cancerous tissue itself. This leads to a process known as cavitation, a process that is lethal to cancer cells. By combining these two unique properties and focusing them onto the cancerous tissue, effective eradication of the cancer can be instantaneously achieved!
The Sonablate® 500 is being studied in clinical trials for use in the treatment of prostate cancer in the United States and is not approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. HIFU with the Sonablate® 500 is authorized for use for the treatment of prostate cancer in Canada, Argentina and the Dominican Republic. It is also available in the Bahamas and Mexico.
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