High intensity focused ultrasound: A noninvasive therapy for locally advanced pancreatic cancer

Figure 1 Schematic diagram demonstrating the principle of high intensity focused ultrasound treatment for pancreatic cancer. Ultrasound beam is focused into a small volume in which ultrasound energy is converted into heat to induce the required coagulation necrosis of a targeted pancreatic tumor. T: HIFU transducer; C: The targeted pancreatic cancer.

Figure 2 Grey-scale changes in a treated pancreatic cancer on real-time ultrasound images during high intensity focused ultrasound exposure. A: Ultrasound (US) image obtained before high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) shows a pancreatic cancer lesion present in the body of the pancreas (arrowheads); B: US image obtained immediately after the one-slice HIFU treatment shows the obvious hyperechogenicity of the treated pancreatic tumor (arrowheads).

Figure 3 Contrast-enhanced T-weighted MR images obtained in a patient treated with high intensity focused ultrasound for advanced pancreatic cancer. The tumor was 4.5 cm in diameter and located in the body of the pancreas. A: Image obtained before high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) shows blood supply in the pancreatic lesion (arrows); B: Image obtained 2 wk after HIFU shows no evidence of contrast enhancement in the treated lesion (arrows), which is indicative of complete coagulation necrosis in the treated pancreatic cancer.