The ultrasound “drill” to fight thrombosis has been tested for the first time

Fighting thrombosis takes a sufficient part of the investigation in modern health care, and the recent news has become another step towards a progressive and healthy future. The thrombosis issue can be efficiently solved, using a new "drill" which utilizes ultrasonic directional waves to break up clots without any blood diluents. This procedure reduces the risk of complications and makes the process more rapid and effective as well.

New generation surgical instrument

Scientists from the University of North Carolina have developed a new generation surgical instrument — an ultrasound drill designed to conduct a low-frequency ultrasound effect on clots and aimed at destroying them. Such clots in their initial stages may become the cause of thrombosis and can result in a fatal outcome in the future. Therefore, the development of this kind of equipment is of vital importance and can save hundreds of lives.

Blood clots destruction methods

Thrombosis is a dangerous disease resulting in clots which are formed in deep blood vessels and hinder or completely block the free blood flow in the body. As of today, thrombosis treatment using the following ultrasound non-invasive techniques can be performed:

  • ultrasonic waves in the transverse direction;
  • new modern ultrasound "drill".

Blood clots destruction methods

The first method destroys clots perfectly well, but due to wave propagation in the transverse direction, neighboring blood vessels can be affected. Using this technique, blood clots are broken into relatively small particles and there is no need in large doses of blood diluents.

The second option involves the aforementioned novelty in the healthcare industry. Due to modern technologies utilization, the directed ultrasound drill does not affect the adjacent blood vessels. Furthermore, the device intensity allows breaking clots into very fine particles.

The components of the instrument

The components of the instrument

The ultrasound drill designed to fight thrombosis ensures high accuracy, reducing risks of any vascular complications. Besides the main instrument, which is the ultrasonic drill, the device includes an injection tube which allows the user to inject microbubbles into the bloodstream to increase the procedure efficiency, making the clot destruction more rapid and thorough.

At this stage of development, the device has been tested on artificial (synthetic) blood vessels. The cow's blood has been used for the experiment which showed the following results: a blood clot can be broken within 4 to 5 hours, avoiding various diluents utilization. It should be noted that the treatment procedure conducted with a conventional device will take about 10 hours together with the diluents action.

Positive result for 4-5 hours

Reviewing all the advantages of the device operation, the medical researchers experienced a decisive stir, causing them to raise funds to budget the main experiment on the animal model. Patent documents have already been filed, and all the necessary documents which will allow using the technology in the human body are currently being prepared.