Summary

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a non-invasive technique for the thermal ablation of deep-seated tumors. Safe and effective treatment requires image guidance to plan the intervention and monitor the ablation process. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is particularly well suited to this task because of its high soft-tissue contrast and its ability to monitor temperature changes during treatment, an approach known as MR-guided HIFU (MRgHIFU).

Treating abdominal organs such as the liver remains challenging because respiratory motion continuously changes the position of the target, introduces artifacts in MR thermometry, and can bring sensitive structures such as the thoracic cage or bowel into the ultrasound beam path.

The primary objective of this project is to conduct clinical trials of MRgHIFU for the treatment of neoplastic liver nodules. The project builds on a new MRgHIFU approach developed in a previous SNSF-funded research project, bringing the technology into clinical testing in patients for the first time. The studies progressively address the requirements for liver treatment, from accurate targeting to complete tumor ablation.

Within the project, Artanim contributes its expertise in computer science and real-time systems, including the design, implementation and quality assurance of software integrating self-scanning sonication with closed-loop temperature feedback control.

Partners

Rares Salomir – University Hospitals of Geneva, Division of Radiology
Imaging, data analysis, transducer development, clinical testing and project coordination.

Thibault Kössler, Alexis Ricoeur – University Hospitals of Geneva, Division of Oncology
Clinical trials and oncology expertise.

Andrea Peloso – University Hospitals of Geneva, Department of Surgery
Liver surgery.

Caecilia Charbonnier – Artanim
Design, implementation and quality assurance of real-time software integrating self-scanning sonication with closed-loop temperature feedback control.

Summary

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a non-invasive technique for the thermal ablation of deep-seated tumors. Safe and effective treatment requires image guidance to plan the intervention and monitor the ablation process. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is particularly well suited to this task because of its high soft-tissue contrast and its ability to monitor temperature changes during treatment, an approach known as MR-guided HIFU (MRgHIFU).

Treating abdominal organs such as the liver remains challenging because respiratory motion continuously changes the position of the target, introduces artifacts in MR thermometry, and can bring sensitive structures such as the thoracic cage or bowel into the ultrasound beam path.

The goal of this project is to develop MRgHIFU methods for the treatment of unresectable liver malignancies using fast volumetric ablation. The research investigates an enlarged acoustic window, improved focusing capabilities, rapid automatic control of volumetric sonication, and self-scanning of the lesion by exploiting respiratory motion.

Within the project, Artanim was responsible for segmenting the target region and organs at risk, and for computing the optimal positioning of the robotic transducer system while taking into account the segmented anatomy and the required target coverage.

Partners

Rares Salomir, Sana Boudabbous, Alexis Ricoeur, Sylvain Terraz – University Hospitals of Geneva, Division of Radiology
Imaging, data analysis, transducer development, clinical testing and project coordination.

Christian Toso – University Hospitals of Geneva, Visceral Surgery
Liver surgery and clinical expertise.

Caecilia Charbonnier – Artanim
Segmentation of the target region and organs at risk, and optimization of robotic transducer positioning.

Related Publications

M’Rad Y, Charbonnier C, Elias de Oliveira M, Guillemin PC, Crowe LA, Kössler T, Poletti P-A, Boudabbous S, Ricoeur A, Salomir R, Lorton O. Computer-Aided Intra-Operatory Positioning of an MRgHIFU Applicator Dedicated to Abdominal Thermal Therapy Using Particle Swarm Optimization, IEEE Open J Eng Med Biol, 5:524–533, 2024.
PDF · DOI

Lorton O, Guillemin PC, M’Rad Y, Peloso A, Boudabbous S, Charbonnier C, Holman R, Crowe LA, Gui L, Poletti P-A, Ricoeur A, Terraz S, Salomir R. A Novel Concept of a Phased-Array HIFU Transducer Optimized for MR-Guided Hepatic Ablation: Embodiment and First In-Vivo Studies, Front Oncol, 12:899440, 2022.
PDF · DOI