Joost W. Wijlemans1,
Mario Ries2, Martijn de Greef2, Gerald Schubert3,
Max Khler3, Mika Ylihautala3, Lambertus W. Bartels2,
Maurice A.A.J. van den Bosch1, Chrit T.W. Moonen2
1Department
of Radiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands; 2Image
Sciences Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands; 3Philips
Medical Systems MR, Vantaa, Finland
MR-HIFU ablation of highly perfused liver tissue requires high powers with sufficient cool down times. Therefore, ablation of larger volumes will be time consuming and challenging in the clinical setting. In this study, we evaluated a clinically feasible treatment protocol using a porcine liver model. A clinical MR-HIFU system was used to sonicate seven 4mm treatment cells in the liver, which yielded a non-perfused volume of ~2.2ml. Post mortem examination revealed no near field damage. Ablation time was 95 minutes, total treatment time 135 minutes. These results demonstrate that it is clinically feasible to ablate substantial volumes of liver tissue.
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