摘要 : Surgery is moving more and more toward minimally-invasive procedures - using laparoscopic approaches with instruments inserted through tiny incisions or catheters placed in blood vessels through puncture sites. These techniques mi... 展开 Surgery is moving more and more toward minimally-invasive procedures - using laparoscopic approaches with instruments inserted through tiny incisions or catheters placed in blood vessels through puncture sites. These techniques minimize the risks to the patient such as bleeding complications or infection during surgery. Taken a step further, high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) can provide a tool to accomplish many of the same procedures without any incision at all.~(1-5) With HIFU, an ultrasound transducer can be positioned outside the body and focused through the skin and overlying tissue to deliver high-amplitude ultrasound to a target structure such as a tumor (Fig. 1). Absorption of acoustic energy within the focal volume is high enough to rapidly heat the tissue, effectively 'cooking' it within seconds or even a fraction of a second. This procedure also removes the need for a sterile operating room: without the risk of infection, HIFU noninvasive therapy could be done in the doctor's office or outpatient clinic. 收起