Treating Porcine Abscesses with Histotripsy: A Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Physics
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Infected abscesses are common complications requiring antibiotic and drainage treatments.
• Antibiotic resistance is a growing challenge in treating bacterial infections.
• Current treatments like catheter drainage and surgical washout have limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate focused ultrasound, specifically histotripsy, as a non-invasive treatment for infected abscesses.
• To compare the efficacy of boiling histotripsy and cavitation histotripsy in reducing bacterial load.
• To evaluate the safety and feasibility of histotripsy in a porcine abscess model.

Main Methods:

• Subcutaneous and intramuscular abscesses were created in a porcine model.
• Ultrasound imaging monitored abscess maturity and post-treatment outcomes.
• Bacterial colony counts and histopathological evaluations assessed treatment effectiveness and collateral damage.

Main Results:

• Cavitation histotripsy significantly reduced bacterial load compared to boiling histotripsy.
• Cavitation histotripsy utilized a smaller treatment volume.
• Histotripsy demonstrated potential for in situ abscess treatment with minimal collateral damage.

Conclusions:

• Focused ultrasound, particularly cavitation histotripsy, presents a novel, non-invasive therapeutic approach for abscesses.
• This technology may reduce reliance on antibiotics and long-term catheterization.
• Further research is warranted to explore its clinical applicability for acoustically accessible abscesses.