Safety Issues for HIFU Transducer Design

Abstract. In contrast with most ultrasound modalities for medical applications, (especially ultrasound imaging), High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) involves technologies and procedures which may present risk to the patient. These risks, resulting from the high power levels required for effective therapy, should be taken into account at the earliest stages in the design of a system dedicated to HIFU treatment. An understanding of these risks must thus be shared amongst the many players in the field of therapy using high power ultrasound. Moreover, since the number of applications of HIFU has increased appreciably over recent years and the technology is ready to move from the research to the industrial level, it is worth now considering solutions that should be put in place to guarantee the safety of the patient during HIFU treatment. This paper reports thoughts on this, and identifies some risks to the patient that must be taken into consideration in the design of HIFU transducers, and proposes some solutions that could prevent the deleterious consequences of transducer misuse or failure. For the main risks identified, such as exceeding the desired acoustic power or poor control of tissue targeting, a description of transducer performance that could potentially result in problems is systematically sought. This allows proposals for precautions to be taken during operation to be made