Design of a 112-channel phased-array ultrasonography-guided focused ultrasound system in combination with switch of ultrasound imaging plane for tissue ablation

Phased arrays are widely configured in high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) platform due to the ability of fast switching focal spot (FS). Nonetheless they cannot yet be used in most of ultrasonography-guided HIFU (USgHIFU) systems because of difficulties in monitoring. To overcome these obstacles, the prototype of a 112-channel phased-array USgHIFU system was designed. The most unique feature of this system is the capability of switching ultrasound imaging plane for treatment planning (TP) and monitoring via the rotation of the imaging probe round beam axis. In the TP, a planning target volume (PTV) is divided into several imaging planes, and FSs are determined to fill the projection of PTV on each selected plane. Before sonication, the imaging plane is switched to the angle of current FS. Preliminary ex vivo experimental results confirm the feasibility and efficacy of the developed system to ablate tissue as set in the TP.