Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound: A Useful Tool to Study and Monitor Hepatic Tumors Treated With Histotripsy

Overview of Therapeutic Ultrasound Applications and Safety Considerations: 2024 Update

A 2012 review of therapeutic ultrasound was published to educate researchers and physicians on potential applications and concerns for unintended bioeffects (doi: 10.7863/jum.2012.31.4.623). This review serves as an update to the parent article, highlighting advances in therapeutic ultrasound over the past 12 years. In addition to general mechanisms for bioeffects produced by therapeutic ultrasound, current applications, and the pre-clinical and clinical stages are outlined. An overview is provided for image guidance methods to monitor and assess treatment progress. Finally, other topics relevant for the translation of therapeutic ultrasound are discussed, including computational modeling, tissue-mimicking phantoms, and quality assurance protocols.

Ultrasound-Based Micro-/Nanosystems for Biomedical Applications

Due to the intrinsic non-invasive nature, cost-effectiveness, high safety, and real-time capabilities, besides diagnostic imaging, ultrasound as a typical mechanical wave has been extensively developed as a physical tool for versatile biomedical applications. Especially, the prosperity of nanotechnology and nanomedicine invigorates the landscape of ultrasound-based medicine. The unprecedented surge in research enthusiasm and dedicated efforts have led to a mass of multifunctional micro-/nanosystems being applied in ultrasound biomedicine, facilitating precise diagnosis, effective treatment, and personalized theranostics. The effective deployment of versatile ultrasound-based micro-/nanosystems in biomedical applications is rooted in a profound understanding of the relationship among composition, structure, property, bioactivity, application, and performance. In this comprehensive review, we elaborate on the general principles regarding the design, synthesis, functionalization, and optimization of ultrasound-based micro-/nanosystems for abundant biomedical applications. In particular, recent advancements in ultrasound-based micro-/nanosystems for diagnostic imaging are meticulously summarized. Furthermore, we systematically elucidate state-of-the-art studies concerning recent progress in ultrasound-based micro-/nanosystems for therapeutic applications targeting various pathological abnormalities including cancer, bacterial infection, brain diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic diseases. Finally, we conclude and provide an outlook on this research field with an in-depth discussion of the challenges faced and future developments for further extensive clinical translation and application.

Development of Convolutional Neural Network to Segment Ultrasound Images of Histotripsy Ablation

OBJECTIVE

Histotripsy is a focused ultrasound therapy that ablates tissue via the action of bubble clouds. It is under investigation to treat a number of ailments, including renal tumors. Ultrasound imaging is used to monitor histotripsy, though there remains a lack of definitive imaging metrics to confirm successful treatment outcomes. In this study, a convolutional neural network (CNN) was developed to segment ablation on ultrasound images.

METHODS

A transfer learning approach was used to replace classification layers of the residual network ResNet-18. Inputs to the classification layers were based on ultrasound images of ablated red blood cell phantoms. Digital photographs served as the ground truth. The efficacy of the CNN was compared to subtraction imaging, and manual segmentation of images by two board-certified radiologists.

RESULTS

The CNN had a similar performance to manual segmentation, though was improved relative to segmentation with subtraction imaging. Predictions of the network improved over the course of treatment, with the Dice similarity coefficient less than 20% for fewer than 500 applied pulses, but 85% for more than 750 applied pulses. The network was also applied to ultrasound images of ex vivo kidney exposed to histotripsy, which indicated a morphological shift in the treatment profile relative to the phantoms. These findings were consistent with histology that confirmed ablation of the targeted tissue.

CONCLUSION

Overall, the CNN showed promise as a rapid means to assess outcomes of histotripsy and automate treatment.

SIGNIFICANCE

Data collected in this study indicate integration of CNN image segmentation to gauge outcomes for histotripsy ablation holds promise for automating treatment procedures.

Contrast-Enhanced Imaging of Histotripsy Bubble Clouds Using Chirp-Coded Excitation and Volterra Filtering

Histotripsy is a focused ultrasound therapy that ablates tissue via bubble cloud activity. Real-time ultrasound image guidance is used to ensure safe and effective treatment. Plane-wave imaging enables tracking of histotripsy bubble clouds at a high frame rate but lacks adequate contrast. Furthermore, bubble cloud hyperechogenicity is reduced in abdominal targets, making the development of contrast-specific sequences for deep-seated targets an active area of research. Chirp-coded subharmonic imaging was reported previously to enhance histotripsy bubble cloud detection by a modest 4-6 dB compared to the conventional sequence. Incorporating additional steps into the signal processing pipeline could enhance bubble cloud detection and tracking. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of combining chirp-coded subharmonic imaging with Volterra filtering for enhancing bubble cloud detection in vitro. Chirped imaging pulses were used to track bubble clouds generated in scattering phantoms at a 1-kHz frame rate. Fundamental and subharmonic matched filters were applied to the received radio frequency signals, followed by a tuned Volterra filter to extract bubble-specific signatures. For subharmonic imaging, the application of the quadratic Volterra filter improved the contrast-to-tissue ratio from 5.18 ± 1.29 to 10.90 ± 3.76 dB, relative to the application of the subharmonic matched filter. These findings demonstrate the utility of the Volterra filter for histotripsy image guidance.

Recommendations for Reporting Therapeutic Ultrasound Treatment Parameters

These recommendations are intended to provide guidance and to encourage best practice in reporting therapeutic ultrasound treatment parameters. Detailed uniform reporting will allow testing of therapy ultrasound systems and protocols, cross-comparison of studies between different teams using different systems and validation of therapeutic bio-effects. These recommendations have been divided into two sets, one for clinical and one for preclinical studies, each with stratified reporting categories, to account for the disparities in expertise and access to equipment between sites. The recommendations are intended to be useful for clinicians and researchers, for ethical and funding review boards and for the editors and reviewers of scientific journals.

Histotripsy Bubble Cloud Contrast With Chirp-Coded Excitation in Preclinical Models

Histotripsy is a focused ultrasound therapy for tissue ablation via the generation of bubble clouds. These effects can be achieved noninvasively, making sensitive and specific bubble imaging essential for histotripsy guidance. Plane-wave ultrasound imaging can track bubble clouds with an excellent temporal resolution, but there is a significant reduction in echoes when deep-seated organs are targeted. Chirp-coded excitation uses wideband, long-duration imaging pulses to increase signals at depth and promote nonlinear bubble oscillations. In this study, we evaluated histotripsy bubble contrast with chirp-coded excitation in scattering gel phantoms and a subcutaneous mouse tumor model. A range of imaging pulse durations were tested, and compared to a standard plane-wave pulse sequence. Received chirped signals were processed with matched filters to highlight components associated with either fundamental or subharmonic (bubble-specific) frequency bands. The contrast-to-tissue ratio (CTR) was improved in scattering media for subharmonic contrast relative to fundamental contrast (both chirped and standard imaging pulses) with the longest-duration chirped-pulse tested (7.4 [Formula: see text] pulse duration). The CTR was improved for subharmonic contrast relative to fundamental contrast (both chirped and standard imaging pulses) by 4.25 dB ± 1.36 dB in phantoms and 3.84 dB ± 6.42 dB in vivo. No systematic changes were observed in the bubble cloud size or dissolution rate between sequences, indicating image resolution was maintained with the long-duration imaging pulses. Overall, this study demonstrates the feasibility of specific histotripsy bubble cloud visualization with chirp-coded excitation.

Estimating the mechanical energy of histotripsy bubble clouds with high frame rate imaging

Mechanical ablation with the focused ultrasound therapy histotripsy relies on the generation and action of bubble clouds. Despite its critical role for ablation, quantitative metrics of bubble activity to gauge treatment outcomes are still lacking. Here, plane wave imaging was used to track the dissolution of bubble clouds following initiation with the histotripsy pulse. Information about the rate of change in pixel intensity was coupled with an analytic diffusion model to estimate bubble size. Accuracy of the hybrid measurement/model was assessed by comparing the predicted and measured dissolution time of the bubble cloud. Good agreement was found between predictions and measurements of bubble cloud dissolution times in agarose phantoms and murine subcutaneous SCC VII tumors. The analytic diffusion model was extended to compute the maximum bubble size as well as energy imparted to the tissue due to bubble expansion. Regions within tumors predicted to have undergone strong bubble expansion were collocated with ablation. Further, the dissolution time was found to correlate with acoustic emissions generated by the bubble cloud during histotripsy insonation. Overall, these results indicate a combination of modeling and high frame rate imaging may provide means to quantify mechanical energy imparted to the tissue due to bubble expansion for histotripsy.