高强度聚焦超声的原理和应用

高强度聚焦超声(High Intensity Focused Ultrasound,简称HIFU)技术是近年来蓬勃发展起来的一种无创外科工具,并已应用于临床的治疗中.该技术的主要生物效应包括:热效应、空化效应和机械效应.该技术的应用已经涉及到肿瘤学、过敏性鼻炎、泌尿学等方面.本文就HIFU技术的应用、现状和前景作以综述.     

高强度聚焦超声可治疗区域的仿真研究

数值仿真不同治疗参数条件下高强度聚焦超声(high intensity focused ultrasound,HIFU)可治疗区域的变化,对HIFU治疗剂量的确定具有重要的指导意义。本文采用Westervelt方程的近似式,结合Pennes生物热传导方程,以离体猪肝组织为例,在考虑组织声学特性对HIFU焦域温度场影响的条件下,通过时域有限差分法(finite difference time domain,FDTD)对HIFU焦域温度场进行仿真研究。研究结果表明,照射时间越长,组织声学特性的影响就越明显;焦点处的最高温升相同时,可治疗区域的大小差异较小;声强越大,形成可治疗区域所需的时间也越短;当声强一定时,随着照射时间的增加,可治疗区域的长、短轴长度均呈非线性增加;在相同可治疗区域的长轴或短轴长度一定时,输入声强和照射时间呈负相关。     

高强度聚焦超声在治疗肝癌中的研究进展

肝癌是我国常见的恶性肿瘤之一,手术切除是治疗肝癌的首选治疗方法,但是大多数患者发现时多数为中晚期,无法进行手术切除.高强度聚集超声(HIFU)是一种非侵袭性的治疗方法,在肝癌的治疗中发挥着举足轻重的作用.为此作者对HIFU治疗肝癌的原理、提高免疫力的作用及抑制肝癌侵袭和转移的作用进行阐述,为临床治疗该病提供参考.     

高能聚焦超声在治疗晚期胰腺癌中的疗效分析

目的：通过对晚期胰腺癌患者行高强度聚焦超声治疗,观察其近期疗效,为晚期胰腺癌患者的临床治疗提供一种新的选择。方法：对15例晚期胰腺癌患者行高强度聚焦超声治疗,对比治疗前后的KPS评分,疼痛感受评分,CA199,三大常规,生化检查,B超观察肿瘤回声及血供,CT观察肿瘤大小改变。结果：HIFU治疗后,患者KPS评分升高,疼痛评分下降,肿瘤标志物下降,B超观察肿瘤回声,其中10例肿瘤回声增强,11例肿瘤血供减少或消失,CT示大部分患者治疗后肿瘤体积缩小或不变,治疗后三大常规、生化和电解质无明显改变。结论：运用高强度聚焦超声治疗晚期胰腺癌患者,在改善患者临床症状方面有明显疗效,并且能缩小肿瘤体积,减少或中断肿瘤血供,是一种很有发展前景的无创治疗方法。     

高强度聚焦超声在治疗肝癌中的研究进展

肝癌是我国常见的恶性肿瘤之一,手术切除是治疗肝癌的首选治疗方法,但是大多数患者发现时多数为中晚期,无法进行手术切除。高强度聚集超声(HIFU)是一种非侵袭性的治疗方法,在肝癌的治疗中发挥着举足轻重的作用。为此作者对HIFU治疗肝癌的原理、提高免疫力的作用及抑制肝癌侵袭和转移的作用进行阐述,为临床治疗该病提供参考。     

Transmural Ultrasound Imaging of Thermal Lesion and Action Potential Changes in Perfused Canine Cardiac Wedge Preparations by High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Ablation

Intra-procedural imaging is important for guiding cardiac arrhythmia ablation. It is difficult to obtain intra-procedural correlation of thermal lesion formation with action potential (AP) changes in the transmural plane during ablation. This study tested parametric ultrasound imaging for transmural imaging of lesion and AP changes in high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation using coronary perfused canine ventricular wedge preparations (n = 13). The preparations were paced from epi/endocardial surfaces and subjected to HIFU application (3.5 MHz, 11 Hz pulse-repetition-frequency, 70% duty cycle, duration 4 s, 3500 W/cm²), during which simultaneous optical mapping (1 kframes/s) using di-4-ANEPPS and ultrasound imaging (30 MHz) of the same transmural surface of the wedge were performed. Spatiotemporally correlated AP measurements and ultrasound imaging allowed quantification of the reduction of AP amplitude (APA), shortening of AP duration at 50% repolarization, AP triangulation, decrease of optical AP rise, and change of conduction velocity along tissue depth direction within and surrounding HIFU lesions. The threshold of irreversible change in APA correlating to lesions was determined to be 43±1% with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) area under curve (AUC) of 0.96±0.01 (n = 13). Ultrasound imaging parameters such as integrated backscatter, Rayleigh (α) and log-normal (σ) parameters, cumulative extrema of σ were tested, with the cumulative extrema of σ performing the best in detecting lesion (ROC AUC 0.89±0.01, n = 13) and change of APA (ROC AUC 0.79±0.03, n = 13). In conclusion, characteristic tissue and AP changes in HIFU ablation were identified and spatiotemporally correlated using optical mapping and ultrasound imaging. Parametric ultrasound imaging using cumulative extrema of σ can detect HIFU lesion and APA reduction.     

High Dynamic Range Processing for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Purpose

To minimize feature loss in T₁- and T₂-weighted MRI by merging multiple MR images acquired at different T_R and T_E to generate an image with increased dynamic range.

Materials and Methods

High Dynamic Range (HDR) processing techniques from the field of photography were applied to a series of acquired MR images. Specifically, a method to parameterize the algorithm for MRI data was developed and tested. T₁- and T₂-weighted images of a number of contrast agent phantoms and a live mouse were acquired with varying T_R and T_E parameters. The images were computationally merged to produce HDR-MR images. All acquisitions were performed on a 7.05 T Bruker PharmaScan with a multi-echo spin echo pulse sequence.

Results

HDR-MRI delineated bright and dark features that were either saturated or indistinguishable from background in standard T₁- and T₂-weighted MRI. The increased dynamic range preserved intensity gradation over a larger range of T₁ and T₂ in phantoms and revealed more anatomical features in vivo.

Conclusions

We have developed and tested a method to apply HDR processing to MR images. The increased dynamic range of HDR-MR images as compared to standard T₁- and T₂-weighted images minimizes feature loss caused by magnetization recovery or low SNR.     

高强度聚焦超声肿瘤治疗焦域的仿真研究

数值仿真是预测高强度聚焦超声(high intensity focused ultrasound,HIFU)治疗的温度分布、确定治疗剂量的有效方法之一。本研究采用Westervelt方程的近似式,并结合Pennes生物热传导方程,以猪肝肿瘤为例,在考虑肝组织声学特性对HIFU温度场影响的条件下,通过时域有限差分法仿真研究辐照时间和声强对肿瘤组织内可治疗焦域体积的影响。研究结果表明,一定声强条件下,肝组织声学特性对肿瘤内可治疗焦域的影响随着辐照时间的延长而凸显;可治疗焦域体积随时间增长或声强增大而非线性增加;相同辐照条件下,肿瘤组织内的可治疗焦域体积大于肝组织内的;当可治疗焦域体积一定时,辐照声强和辐照时间呈负相关;同时,等效热剂量判定的可治疗焦域大于温度阈值判定的可治疗焦域,且二者之差随声强而变化。     

Modeling and Predicting Tissue Movement and Deformation for High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Therapy

PurposeIn ultrasound-guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) therapy, the target tissue (such as a tumor) often moves and/or deforms in response to an external force. This problem creates difficulties in treating patients and can lead to the destruction of normal tissue. In order to solve this problem, we present a novel method to model and predict the movement and deformation of the target tissue during ultrasound-guided HIFU therapy.MethodsOur method computationally predicts the position of the target tissue under external force. This prediction allows appropriate adjustments in the focal region during the application of HIFU so that the treatment head is kept aligned with the diseased tissue through the course of therapy. To accomplish this goal, we utilize the cow tissue as the experimental target tissue to collect spatial sequences of ultrasound images using the HIFU equipment. A Geodesic Localized Chan-Vese (GLCV) model is developed to segment the target tissue images. A 3D target tissue model is built based on the segmented results. A versatile particle framework is constructed based on Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) to model the movement and deformation of the target tissue. Further, an iterative parameter estimation algorithm is utilized to determine the essential parameters of the versatile particle framework. Finally, the versatile particle framework with the determined parameters is used to estimate the movement and deformation of the target tissue.ResultsTo validate our method, we compare the predicted contours with the ground truth contours. We found that the lowest, highest and average Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) values between predicted and ground truth contours were, respectively, 0.9615, 0.9770 and 0.9697.ConclusionOur experimental result indicates that the proposed method can effectively predict the dynamic contours of the moving and deforming tissue during ultrasound-guided HIFU therapy.     

The Value of Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Treatment of Experimental Liver Cancer

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a rapidly developing, non-invasive technique for local treatment of solid tumors that produce coagulative tumor necrosis. This study is aimed to investigate the feasibility of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) on early assessing treatment of HIFU ablation in rabbit with VX2 liver tumor. HIFU ablation was performed on normal liver and VX2 tumor in rabbit, and MRS was performed on normal liver and VX2 tumor before and 2 days after 100% HIFU ablation or 80% ablation in tumor volume. Choline (Cho) and choline/lipid (Cho/Lip) ratios between complete and partial HIFU ablation of tumor were compared. Tissues were harvested and sequentially sliced to confirm the necrosis. In normal liver, the Cho value liver was not obviously changed after HIFU (P > .05), but the Cho/Lip ratio was decreased (P < .05). Cho in liver VX2 tumor was much higher than that in normal liver (P < .001). Cho and Cho/Lip ratio were significantly decreased in tumor after complete HIFU ablation and partial HIFU ablation, and the Cho value in complete HIFU tumor ablation did not show any difference from that in normal liver after HIFU (P > .05); however, the Cho value in partial ablation was still higher than that in normal liver before or in tumor after complete HIFU treatment due to the residual part of tumors, and Cho/Lip ratio is lower than that in complete HIFU treatment (P < .001). The changes in MRS parameters were consistent with histopathologic changes of the tumor tissues after treatment. MRS could differentiate the complete tumor necrosis from residual tumor tissue, when combined with magnetic resonance imaging. We conclude that MRS may be applied as an important, non-invasive biomarker for monitoring the thoroughness of HIFU ablation.     

Effect of Breath Holding on Spleen Volume Measured by Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Objective

Ultrasonographic studies have demonstrated transient reduction in spleen volume in relation to apnea diving. We measured spleen volume under various respiratory conditions by MR imaging to accurately determine the influence of ordinary breath holding on spleen volumetry.

Materials and Methods

Twelve healthy adult volunteers were examined. Contiguous MR images of the spleen were acquired during free breathing and during respiratory manipulations, including breath holding at the end of normal expiration, breath holding at deep inspiration, and the valsalva maneuver, and spleen volume was measured from each image set based on the sum-of-areas method. Acquisition during free breathing was performed with respiratory triggering. The duration of each respiratory manipulation was 30 s, and five sets of MR images were acquired serially during each manipulation.

Results

Baseline spleen volume before respiratory manipulation was 173.0 ± 79.7 mL, and the coefficient of variance for two baseline measures was 1.4% ± 1.6%, suggesting excellent repeatability. Spleen volume decreased significantly just after the commencement of respiratory manipulation, remained constant during the manipulation, and returned to the control value 2 min after the cessation of the manipulation, irrespective of manipulation type. The percentages of volume reduction were 10.2% ± 2.9%, 10.2% ± 3.5%, and 13.3% ± 5.7% during expiration breath holding, deep-inspiration breath holding, and the valsalva maneuver, respectively, and these values did not differ significantly.

Conclusions

Spleen volume is reduced during short breath-hold apnea in healthy adults. Physiological responses of the spleen to respiratory manipulations should be considered in the measurement and interpretation of spleen volume.     

Effective Cerebral Connectivity during Silent Speech Reading Revealed by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Seeing the articulatory gestures of the speaker (“speech reading”) enhances speech perception especially in noisy conditions. Recent neuroimaging studies tentatively suggest that speech reading activates speech motor system, which then influences superior-posterior temporal lobe auditory areas via an efference copy. Here, nineteen healthy volunteers were presented with silent videoclips of a person articulating Finnish vowels /a/, /i/ (non-targets), and /o/ (targets) during event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Speech reading significantly activated visual cortex, posterior fusiform gyrus (pFG), posterior superior temporal gyrus and sulcus (pSTG/S), and the speech motor areas, including premotor cortex, parts of the inferior (IFG) and middle (MFG) frontal gyri extending into frontal polar (FP) structures, somatosensory areas, and supramarginal gyrus (SMG). Structural equation modelling (SEM) of these data suggested that information flows first from extrastriate visual cortex to pFS, and from there, in parallel, to pSTG/S and MFG/FP. From pSTG/S information flow continues to IFG or SMG and eventually somatosensory areas. Feedback connectivity was estimated to run from MFG/FP to IFG, and pSTG/S. The direct functional connection from pFG to MFG/FP and feedback connection from MFG/FP to pSTG/S and IFG support the hypothesis of prefrontal speech motor areas influencing auditory speech processing in pSTG/S via an efference copy.     

磁共振成像设备发展趋势

本文主要叙述了磁共振设备的原理、构造、产品发展趋势。并对提高磁共振图像分辨的新技术,如Tim全景矩阵成像、自由浪潮技术、高清晰MRI技术和双梯度技术作了综述。     

In Vivo Assessment of Cold Adaptation in Insect Larvae by Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Background

Temperatures below the freezing point of water and the ensuing ice crystal formation pose serious challenges to cell structure and function. Consequently, species living in seasonally cold environments have evolved a multitude of strategies to reorganize their cellular architecture and metabolism, and the underlying mechanisms are crucial to our understanding of life. In multicellular organisms, and poikilotherm animals in particular, our knowledge about these processes is almost exclusively due to invasive studies, thereby limiting the range of conclusions that can be drawn about intact living systems.

Methodology

Given that non-destructive techniques like ¹H Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging and spectroscopy have proven useful for in vivo investigations of a wide range of biological systems, we aimed at evaluating their potential to observe cold adaptations in living insect larvae. Specifically, we chose two cold-hardy insect species that frequently serve as cryobiological model systems–the freeze-avoiding gall moth Epiblema scudderiana and the freeze-tolerant gall fly Eurosta solidaginis.

Results

In vivo MR images were acquired from autumn-collected larvae at temperatures between 0°C and about −70°C and at spatial resolutions down to 27 µm. These images revealed three-dimensional (3D) larval anatomy at a level of detail currently not in reach of other in vivo techniques. Furthermore, they allowed visualization of the 3D distribution of the remaining liquid water and of the endogenous cryoprotectants at subzero temperatures, and temperature-weighted images of these distributions could be derived. Finally, individual fat body cells and their nuclei could be identified in intact frozen Eurosta larvae.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that high resolution MR techniques provide for interesting methodological options in comparative cryobiological investigations, especially in vivo.     

高强度聚焦超声对人膀胱癌细胞的生长抑制作用及机理研究

研究高强度聚焦超声（high intensity focused ultrasound,HIFU）对人膀胱癌细胞的杀伤作用,并探索其作用机理.用不同强度的HIFU处理人膀胱癌细胞T24,用台盼蓝排斥法染色、细胞增殖试验（MTT法）研究HIFU对癌细胞的杀伤和生长抑制作用;流式细胞术检测其对癌细胞周期、凋亡及相关基因表达的影响.HIFU处理后,癌细胞死亡率升高,增殖活性降低,G0/G1期细胞数增加,S期细胞数减少,凋亡指数升高,与对照组比较,差异有显著性意义（P＜0.05）;P53、BCL-2和FAS表达阳性细胞数与对照组比较,无显著性意义（P＞0.05）;HIFU强度为600 W/cm^2时,HSP70表达阳性细胞数升高,与对照组比较差异有显著性意义（P＜0.05）.HIFU对人膀胱癌细胞T24具有明显的杀伤及抑制作用,其机理与抑制DNA合成有关;HIFU具有诱导癌细胞凋亡的作用,其诱导凋亡作用可能与P53、BCL-2和FAS无关.     

Noninvasive Cardiac Flow Assessment Using High Speed Magnetic Resonance Fluid Motion Tracking

Cardiovascular diseases can be diagnosed by assessing abnormal flow behavior in the heart. We introduce, for the first time, a magnetic resonance imaging-based diagnostic that produces sectional flow maps of cardiac chambers, and presents cardiac analysis based on the flow information. Using steady-state free precession magnetic resonance images of blood, we demonstrate intensity contrast between asynchronous and synchronous proton spins. Turbulent blood flow in cardiac chambers contains asynchronous blood proton spins whose concentration affects the signal intensities that are registered onto the magnetic resonance images. Application of intensity flow tracking based on their non-uniform signal concentrations provides a flow field map of the blood motion. We verify this theory in a patient with an atrial septal defect whose chamber blood flow vortices vary in speed of rotation before and after septal occlusion. Based on the measurement of cardiac flow vorticity in our implementation, we establish a relationship between atrial vorticity and septal defect. The developed system has the potential to be used as a prognostic and investigative tool for assessment of cardiac abnormalities, and can be exploited in parallel to examining myocardial defects using steady-state free precession magnetic resonance images of the heart.