Two large focal zones can be created using a toroidal transducer for increasing the coagulated volume

Toroidal HIFU transducers have been shown to generate large conical ablations (7 cm
³
in 40 seconds). The focal zone is composed of a first ring-shaped focal zone and an overlap of ultrasound beams behind this first focus. A HIFU device has been developed on this principle to treat liver metastases during an open procedure. Although these large lesions contribute to reduce treatment time, it is still needed to juxtapose 4 to 9 single HIFU lesions to treat liver metastasis (2 cm in diameter) with safety margins. In this work, a different toroidal geometry was used. With this transducer, the overlap area is located between the probe and the focal ring. The objective was to use this transducer with electronic focusing in order to create a spherical shape lesion with sufficient volume for the destruction of a metastasis of 2 cm in diameter without any mechanical displacement. The operating frequency of the toroidal transducer was 2.5 MHz. The radius of curvature was 70 mm with a diameter of 67 mm. The focal ring had a radius of 15 mm. The overlap zone extents between 35 to 55 mm from the emitting surface. An ultrasound-imaging probe (working at 7.5 MHz) was placed in a central circular opening of 26 mm in the HIFU transducer and was aligned with the focal plane. The transducer was divided into 32 rings of 78 mm
²
. Using a 32 channels amplifier with a phase resolution of 1.4 degrees, it was possible to change the diameter (0 to 15 mm) and depth (45 to 85 mm) of the focus circle to maximize dimensions of the lesion. Tests were conducted in vitro, in bovine liver samples. This toroidal geometry and the use of electronic beam steering allow the creation of roughly spherical lesions (diameter of 47 mm, depth of 35 mm). This treatment was obtained in 6 minutes and 10 seconds without any mechanical displacement of the transducer. The lesions obtained were homogeneous and no untreated area was observed. In conclusion, these results indicate that the treatment of a liver metastasis up to 2 cm in diameter is conceivable with safety margins. An in vivo validation on porcine model is under progress.