Non-invasive Treatment of Abscesses with Ultrasound

Abscesses are walled-off collections of fluid and bacteria within the body. They are common complications of surgery, trauma, and systemic infections. Typical treatment is the surgical placement of a drainage catheter to drain the abscess fluid over several days. Dr. Keith Chan and researchers at APL-UW's Center for Industrial + Medical Ultrasound are exploring how to treat abscesses non-invasively, that is, from outside the body, with high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). This experimental therapy could reduce pain, radiation exposure, antibiotic use, and costs for patients with abscesses. Therapeutic ultrasound could also treat abscesses too small or inaccessible for conventional drainage.

Flow Cytometry Techniques Advance Microbubble Science

Researchers at the Center for Industrial and Medical Ultrasound (CIMU) are measuring the physical properties of ultrasound contrast agents — tiny gas bubbles several microns in diameter used to increase sonogram imaging efficiency in the body. When injected to the general circulation they can act as probes and beacons within the body, and can carry and deploy chemotherapeutic payloads.

CIMU researchers have developed a hybrid instrument that combines an off-the-shelf flow cytometer with an acoustic transducer. The cytometer's laser interrogation counts and measures the bubbles while the acoustic interrogation reveals the bubbles' viscosity and elasticity at megahertz frequencies.