Ultrasonic contact microprobe: experimental results

At the Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, the original ultrasonic contact microprobe (UCM) was designed. The efficacy of the instrument was tested on 120 brains of Wistar strain rats. The authors have been investigating the possibility of transferring high-energy ultrasound through the titanium wire probe of the device and the efficacy of UCM in controlled punctiform destruction of brain tissue. Light and electron microscope assessed the lesions made in the brains of experimental rats. Histological findings in the preparations showed the zone of thermal injuries from 100 to 200 microm and the zone of ultrastructural changes from 200 to 300 microm, indicating the sparing effect of the microprobe with regard to the adjacent neurovascular structures. The small dimensions of the ultrasonic contact microprobe (1.6 mm) enable its introduction through the operating canal of a ventriculoscope. Further research is expected to show the efficacy of the ultrasonic contact microprobe in endoscopic neurosurgery.