Abstract
Objective
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) exposure is able to produce a fistula between the bladder and abdominal wall of a fetus with lower urinary tract obstruction (LUTO).
Materials and methods
We constructed a prototype HIFU transducer in combination with an imaging probe. HIFU was applied to the lower abdomen of a rabbit neonate that was complicated by LUTO as an experimental model to produce a fistula; HIFU was applied in a tank filled with degassed water. Exposed lesions were assessed by histological analysis at necropsy.
Results
When HIFU was applied at 5.5 kW/cm2 of spatial-peak temporal average intensity (SPTA), a fistula was created between the lower abdominal wall and the urinary bladder; urine gushed out from the bladder through the fistula within 60 s after HIFU exposure.
Conclusion
The findings suggest that fetal diseases such as LUTO can be non-invasively treated using HIFU exposure from even outside the maternal body, though this study was performed in a water tank.
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Acknowledgments
This research was financially supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. 21592112) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
Conflict of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
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Aoki, H., Ichizuka, K., Ichihara, M. et al. Application of high-intensity focused ultrasound for fetal therapy: experimental study using an animal model of lower urinary tract obstruction. J Med Ultrasonics 40, 107–110 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10396-012-0398-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10396-012-0398-z