Review of ultrasound therapy

The development of modern imaging techniques has made it possible to use focused ultrasound for the accurate destruction of deep tissues. In addition to targeting, imaging techniques allow the temperature elevation and cavitation events to be detected and potentially quantified. These techniques have made treatment control possible to a degree such it may soon be possible to perform noninvasive tissue destruction with at least the same precision as open surgery. In addition, new experimental evidence has expanded the potential use of ultrasound to vascular occlusions, targeting and activating chemicals, providing access to the brain by opening the blood brain barrier, targeting gene therapy, etc. Overall, the potential number of therapeutic uses of ultrasound is expanding rapidly beyond the tissue destruction that has been investigated so far. Here, some of this progress is reviewed. In addition, new results are shown that demonstrate the potential for the transskull ultrasound therapy.