ArticleslgStudy

science

Therapeutic ultrasound

Therapeutic ultrasound is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Therapeutic ultrasound rather than just read about it. In short: Therapeutic ultrasound refers generally to the use of ultrasound for the treatment of a medical condition or for therapeutic benefit. Physiotherapeutic ultrasound was introduced into clinical practice in the 1950s, with lithotripsy introduced in the 1980s.

Therapeutic ultrasound — main illustration
Therapeutic ultrasound — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Therapeutic ultrasound belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Therapeutic ultrasound to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Therapeutic ultrasound from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Therapeutic ultrasound refers generally to the use of ultrasound for the treatment of a medical condition or for therapeutic benefit. Physiotherapeutic ultrasound was introduced into clinical practice in the 1950s, with lithotripsy introduced in the 1980s. Other uses of ultrasound for therapeutic benefit are at various stages in transitioning from research to clinical use and include: high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), targeted ultrasound drug delivery, trans-dermal ultrasound drug delivery, ultrasound hemostasis, cancer therapy, and ultrasound assisted thrombolysis Ultrasound used for therapeutic benefit often use focused ultrasound waves, however, unfocused ultrasound waves may also be used.

In the above applications, the ultrasound passes through human tissue where it is the main source of the observed biological effect (the oscillation of abrasive dental tools at ultrasonic frequencies therefore do not belong to this class). The ultrasound within tissue consists of very high frequency sound waves, between 800,000 Hz and 20,000,000 Hz, which cannot be heard by humans. Some of the advantages of ultrasound as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool include its safety profile, lack of radiation, portability, and low cost. Therapeutic ultrasound in medicine ranges from extracorporeal shockwave therapy for the breaking of renal calculi to HIFU in which tumors are ablated. In the research field, use of ultrasound is being explored as a mechanism of enhancing drug delivery, sorting particles, and measuring properties of tissue. In physical therapy, there is some evidence that ultrasound is more effective than placebo treatment for treating patients with arthritis pain, a range of musculoskeletal injuries and for promoting tissue healing.

Medical uses Relatively high-energy ultrasound can break up stony deposits, ablate tissue, accelerate the effect of drugs in a targeted area, assist in the measurement of the elastic properties of tissue, and sort cells or small particles for research.

Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy

Extracorporeal shockwave therapy involves focused, high-energy ultrasound pulses that can be used to break solid masses into fragments. This is often utilized to break up calculi such as kidney stones and gallstones into pieces small enough to be passed from the body without undue difficulty, a procedure known as lithotripsy. The success of lithotripsy depends on the size and location of the stone, and the patient's age. Oncology

Ultrasound can ablate tumors or other tissue non-invasively. This is accomplished using a technique known as high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), also called focused ultrasound surgery. This procedure uses generally lower frequencies than medical diagnostic ultrasound (250–2000 kHz), but significantly higher time-averaged intensities. The treatment is often guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); the combination is then referred to as magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound. In the clinical setting, HIFU techniques are currently being investigated to treat liver, kidney, and prostatic tumors. Ophthalmology

Focused ultrasound sources may be used for cataract treatment by phacoemulsification in which the internal lens of the eye is broken down into small pieces that may then be aspirated. HIFU can also be used in ophthalmology to treat glaucoma. This is accomplished by targeting the ultrasound beams to ablate the ciliary body.

Drug Delivery

Delivering chemotherapy to brain cancer cells and various drugs to other tissues is called acoustic targeted drug delivery. These procedures generally use high frequency ultrasound (1–10 MHz) and a range of intensities (0–20 W/cm2). The acoustic energy is focused on the tissue of interest to agitate the cellular matrix and make it more permeable for therapeutic drugs. Ultrasound has been used to trigger the release of anti-cancer drugs from delivery vectors including liposomes, polymeric microspheres and self-assembled polymeric. Phonophoresis is a form of soft tissue treatment that involves the use of ultrasound combined with medication gels to enhance drug delivery to the desired area.

Vascular Surgery

Ultrasound is essential to the procedures of ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy and endovenous laser treatment for the non-surgical treatment of varicose veins. Ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy techniques are also used to treat ovarian endometriomas, especially for patients who are pregnant. Plastic Surgery

Ultrasound-assisted lipectomy involves the use of ultrasound to aid in removal of subcutaneous fat during liposuction procedures. Highly focused ultrasound waves are used to emulsify fat cells and allow for easier removal with suction.

History The first large scale application of ultrasound was around World War II. Sonar systems were being built and used to navigate submarines. It was realized that the high intensity ultrasound waves that they were using were heating and killing fish. This led to research in tissue heating and healing effects. Since the 1940s, ultrasound has been used by physical and occupational therapists for therapeutic effects.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Therapeutic ultrasound: The top probe highlights the use of ultrasound for diagnostic purposes such as imaging tissue. The bottom probe demonstrates the use of ultrasound for therapeutic benefits, which often utilize high-energy, focused ultrasound beams.
The top probe highlights the use of ultrasound for diagnostic purposes such as imaging tissue. The bottom probe demonstrates the use of ultrasound for therapeutic benefits, which often utilize high-energy, focused ultrasound beams.
Therapeutic ultrasound: Calcium oxalate (a type of kidney stone) fragments collected after treatment with lithotripsy.
Calcium oxalate (a type of kidney stone) fragments collected after treatment with lithotripsy.
Therapeutic ultrasound: Enhanced drug uptake using acoustic targeted drug delivery
Enhanced drug uptake using acoustic targeted drug delivery
Therapeutic ultrasound: Shown in this picture are varicose veins that would be targeted with ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy.
Shown in this picture are varicose veins that would be targeted with ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy.
Therapeutic ultrasound: Acoustic tweezers sorted ten cells into the shape of the letters "A" and "T" at a scale of micrometers.
Acoustic tweezers sorted ten cells into the shape of the letters "A" and "T" at a scale of micrometers.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Therapeutic ultrasound

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Therapeutic ultrasound claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Therapeutic ultrasound before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Therapeutic ultrasound ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Therapeutic ultrasound

In research
Therapeutic ultrasound appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Therapeutic ultrasound in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Therapeutic ultrasound is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Athletic training, Medical ultrasonography, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Therapeutic ultrasound outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Therapeutic ultrasound” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Therapeutic ultrasound in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Therapeutic ultrasound means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Therapeutic ultrasound out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Therapeutic ultrasound in simple terms?

Therapeutic ultrasound refers generally to the use of ultrasound for the treatment of a medical condition or for therapeutic benefit. Physiotherapeutic ultrasound was introduced into clinical practice in the 1950s, with lithotripsy introduced in the 1980s.

Why does Therapeutic ultrasound matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Therapeutic ultrasound?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Therapeutic ultrasound.

Tags

  • Athletic training
  • Medical ultrasonography

Keep exploring