Advanced Ultrasound Technologies for Diagnosis and Therapy

Abstract

Ultrasound is among the most rapidly advancing imaging techniques. Functional methods such as elastography have been clinically introduced, and tissue characterization is improved by contrast-enhanced scans. Here, novel super-resolution techniques provide unique morphological and functional insights into tissue vascularisation. Functional analyses are complemented with molecular ultrasound imaging, to visualize markers of inflammation and angiogenesis. The full potential of diagnostic ultrasound may become apparent by integrating these multiple imaging features in radiomics approaches. Emerging interest in ultrasound also results from its therapeutic potential. Various applications on tumor ablation with high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) are clinically evaluated and its performance strongly benefits from the integration into Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Additionally, oscillating microbubbles mediate sonoporation to open biological barriers, thus improving the delivery of drugs or nucleic acids that are co-administered or co-formulated with microbubbles. This article provides an overview of recent developments in diagnostic and therapeutic ultrasound, highlighting multiple innovation tracks and their translational potential.