Functional changes in arteries induced by pulsed high-intensity focused ultrasound

Continuous high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) at various intensities has been shown to induce functional changes in arteries. The objective of the current study was to investigate the functional changes in arteries when pulsed HIFU is used at various acoustic power levels. Sonication was applied at an ultrasound frequency of 1 MHz with a burst length of 50 ms and a repetition frequency of 1 Hz. The duration of the whole sonication was 6 s. The femoral arteries and abdominal aortas of Sprague-Dawley rats were surgically exposed and sonicated with pulsed HIFU; the pulsed-HIFU beam was aimed using color images of the blood flow. The peak systolic velocity (PSV) of the blood flow, as measured by Doppler velocimetry, increased in the arteries to which pulsed HIFU had been applied at acoustic powers of 15, 30, and 45 W. The increase in PSV was correlated with the acoustic power of the pulsed HIFU. The temperatures recorded by the thermocouples placed above and below the aorta surfaces did not change significantly during the sonication. Furthermore, no histological changes were found and the vessel wall showed no obvious temperature rise. Therefore, our results indicate that the functional changes induced by pulsed-HIFU exposure are mainly due to mechanical effects.