Magnetic resonance-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound, also known as magneticwaveknife (MWK), is one of the emerging modalities for the treatment of idiopathic tremor and tremor-dominant Parkinson's Disease (TPD) in recent years, which is non-invasive, controllable, and has strong penetrating power. At present, there is an imported MWK productin China.
On April 27, a breakthrough was made in the R&D and application of the MWK system. The team of Prof. Wang Han, Vice President of Shanghai General Hospital and leader of the Department of Radiology, together with the team of Prof. Shen Guofeng and Prof. Chen Yao from the School of Biomedical Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Green Medical Era successfully completed China’s first preclinical primate experiment which used the China-made MWK system to treat idiopathic tremorand TPD. The experiment tested the safety, effectiveness and stability of the system, and provided important practical support for the entry of the MWK system into human clinical trials and the domestication of equipment.
Idiopathic tremor is a common neurological disease. Daily activities such as eating, drinking, and writing are severely affected, and about 15-25% of patients are unable to live and work normally due to the disease. Currently, mature solutions arethe surgical and pharmacological treatments. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is one of the most important minimally invasive interventions, in which electrodes are implanted into the brain through minimally invasive surgery to stimulate the nerve nuclei and neural circuits to achieve the therapeutic purpose. However, the invasive treatment of DBS caused many concerns by patients.
But MWK provides a new solution. Its working mechanism is to simultaneously emit hundreds to thousands of ultrasound beams under the guidance of superconducting magnetic resonance (MRI) real-time imaging, real-time phase control to realize multi-modal precision focusing, and real-time measurement of temperature by MRI to realize precise ablation of the target point of the brain treatment. Patients can receive the treatment on an outpatient basis without craniotomy or general anesthesia.
Prof. Wang Han told journalists that in recent years, Shanghai General Hospital, together with Prof. Shen Guofeng's team and Green Medical Era and under the guidance of Academician Chen Yazhu, has made fundamental breakthroughs and developed a series of domestic MWK products into the clinic. The working mechanism of this technology is similar to phased array radar, which can actively sense and flexibly adjust the position of the ultrasound focus to realize the rapid movement and transformation of the focus. In the treatment process, the MWK can non-destructively detect a variety of parameters, such as temperature, the entire operation visualization. Doctors can use the real-time magnetic resonance image on the background monitor to guide the operation and assess the efficacy of the treatment in real time and accurately, which greatly improves the safety and effectiveness of focused ultrasound treatment.
In this animal experiment, the research team to primate rhesus monkeys as experimental objects, verified the safety and effectiveness of domestic MWK system. It is reported that the first generation of domestic MWK system for brain disease treatment will focus on thermal ablation treatment of idiopathic tremor, tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease and dyskinesia Parkinson's disease when it goes on the market.
