Study of the sonographic functions in targeted high-intensity focused ultrasound using nanoscale bubbles / 南方医科大学学报

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To improve the detection sensitivity of coagulative necrosis caused by high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) exposure.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty rabbits bearing VX2 breast neoplasms at the second bilateral breast were divided randomly into 3 groups (n=20) for targeted HIFU exposure at 90, 120, or 150 W for 3 s. With the right breast neoplasms as the control, the left ones were irradiated following nanoscale bubble injection. The ultrasonograms generated before and immediately after the exposure were analyzed for changes in the gray scale values and for computation of the related functions in the target area. The accuracy and sensitivity of gray evaluation and analysis of the related functions were compared in the detection of coagulative necrosis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Analysis of the related functions of the 120 samples showed an significantly higher accuracy (83.3%) than gray scale-based evaluation (68.3%) in detecting the coagulative necrosis (P<0.05). Under the same irradiation conditions, the mean values of the related function was significantly lower in microbubble group than in the control group (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Analysis of the related functions of the ultrasonographic data can be used to evaluate the coagulative necrosis in the target exposure area following HIFU with a greater sensitivity and accuracy than gray-scale evaluation.</p>