The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of sound waves to break down tumors—a technique called histotripsy—in humans for liver treatment.
The sound waves are focused onto the tumor, so they only have enough energy to damage tissue there, and not anywhere else.
Think about focusing the sun’s rays through a magnifying glass; they’re only concentrated enough to burn at a very small area. The focused ultrasound is similar, although they’re probably using some form of phased array to get the equivalent effect.
The sound waves are focused onto the tumor, so they only have enough energy to damage tissue there, and not anywhere else.
Think about focusing the sun’s rays through a magnifying glass; they’re only concentrated enough to burn at a very small area. The focused ultrasound is similar, although they’re probably using some form of phased array to get the equivalent effect.