High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Therapy in the Uterine Fibroid: A Clinical Case Study of Poor Heating Efficacy - UTU Research Portal

A4 Refereed article in a conference publication

High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Therapy in the Uterine Fibroid: A Clinical Case Study of Poor Heating Efficacy

Authors: Visa Suomi, Antti Viitala, Teija Sainio, Gaber Komar, Roberto Blanco Sequeiros

Conference name: International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society

Publication year: 2019

Journal: Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society

Book title : 2019 41st Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC)

Journal name in source: Conference proceedings : ... Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual Conference

Journal acronym: Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc

First page : 2500

Last page: 2503

ISBN: 978-1-5386-1312-2

eISBN: 978-1-5386-1311-5

ISSN: 1557-170X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/EMBC.2019.8857147

Abstract

A clinical case study of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment in the uterine fibroid was conducted. During the therapy, poor heating efficacy was observed which could be attributed to several factors such as the local perfusion rate, patient-specific anatomy or changes in acoustic parameters of the ultrasound field. In order to determine the cause of the diminished heating, perfusion analyses and ultrasound simulations were conducted using the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from the treatment. The perfusion analysis showed high local perfusion rate in the myoma (301.0 ± 25.6 mL/100 g/min) compared to the surrounding myometrium (233.8 ± 16.2 mL/100 g/min). The ultrasound simulations did not show large differences in the focal point shape or the acoustic pressure (2.07 ± 0.06 MPa) when tilting the transducer. However, a small shift (-2.2 ± 1.3 mm) in the axial location of the focal point was observed. The main causes for the diminished heating were likely the high local perfusion and ultrasound attenuation due to the deep location of the myoma.