A new tool uses "vortex ultrasound"—a sort of ultrasonic tornado—to break down blood clots in the brain more quickly than existing methods.
The approach worked more quickly than existing techniques to eliminate clots formed in an in vitro model of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), according to a new study.
“Our previous work looked at various techniques that use ultrasound to eliminate blood clots using what are essentially forward-facing waves,” says Xiaoning Jiang, co-corresponding author of the paper in the journal Research. “Our new work uses vortex ultrasound, where the ultrasound waves have a helical wavefront.
“In other words, the ultrasound is swirling as it moves forward,” says Jiang, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University. “Based on our in vitro testing, this approach eliminates blood clots more quickly than existing techniques, largely because of the shear stress induced by the vortex wave.”
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