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Updated: Jul 5, 2026

An In vitro System to Gauge the Thrombolytic Efficacy of Histotripsy and a Lytic Drug
Published on: June 4, 2021
Ultrasound thrombolysis
1Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Cardiac Noninvasive Laboratory, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Room 5623, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA. siegel@cshs.org
Abstract:
Ultrasound energy for thrombolysis dates back to 1976. Trubestein et al. demonstrated first in vitro that a rigid wire delivery low frequency ultrasound energy could disrupt clot. These investigators also showed that this system had potential for peripheral arterial clot dissolution in vivo in animal studies [G. Trubestein, C. Engel, F. Etzel, Clinical Science 51 (1976) 697s-698s]. Subsequently, four basic approaches to ultrasonic thrombolysis have been pursued--two without pharmacological agents: (1) catheter-delivered external transducer ultrasound, (2) transcutaneous-delivered HIFU external ultrasound without drug delivery and ultrasound in conjunction with thrombolytic drugs and/or microbubbles or other agents, (3) Catheter-delivered transducer-tipped ultrasound with local drug delivery, and (4) transcutaneous-delivered low frequency ultrasound with concomitant systemic (intravenous) drug delivery for site specific ultrasound augmentation. This article reviews recent data on therapeutic ultrasound for thrombolysis in vitro, in vivo, in animal studies, as well as in human clinical trials.
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