In Vitro Validation of a Sector-Switching HIFU Device for Accelerated Treatment

A sector-switching method that increases the HIFU sequence duty-cycle and reduces the equivalent treatment time was tested in vitro. The MR-compatible HIFU device used consisted of 2 symmetric sectors arranged on a truncated spherical cap (focus = 45 mm, long diameter = 57.5 mm, short diameter = 35 mm). A MR-compatible, 2D positioning system provided 0.5 mm accuracy. Two sonication sequences were considered, each with the same pattern for the focal point trajectory and with identical on-state power. First, both sectors radiated simultaneously, with a power duty cycle of 60%. Second, the sectors radiated separately with balanced temporally-interleaved sonication and a power duty cycle of 87.5%. Numerical simulations were performed to predict the shape of the lesion for a given set of sequence parameters, according to a theoretical model. Fast MR thermometry (voxel size: 0.85x0.85x4.25 mm3; temporal resolution: 2 sec) was performed in two orthogonal planes (sagittal and transverse) while the 2D sonication pattern was contained in the coronal plane. Fresh samples of degassed porcine liver were used, and the macroscopic lesions were measured after HIFU. The 14400 s equivalent thermal dose isolevel was compared respectively for the two sonication sequences, both with numerical simulations and experimental MR data. No susceptibility or RF artifacts could be detected on MR data. The lesion's size ratio between reference versus the sector-switched sequence was 1.12 from simulations and 1.25 (±3.2%) from MRI derived TD. Switching the device sectors reduced the treatment time by 20% while the shape and size of the lesions were maintained. In vivo studies are required for pre-clinical validation.