Busting Blood Clots with Sound Waves

An ultrasound device designed to produce highly focused sound waves might one day be used to break up stroke-causing blood clots in the brain without surgery or drugs. So far, the system has only been tested on clots in test tubes and animals, but researchers aim to start human tests by the end of 2011.

Thilo Hoelscher, a neurologist at the University of California at San Diego, is attacking the clots with a device developed by Israeli ultrasound technology company InSightec. The device surrounds the head with an array of transducers that can focus ultrasound beams on a single spot in the brain without damaging the skull.Thilo Hoelscher, a neurologist at the University of California at San Diego, is attacking the clots with a device developed by Israeli ultrasound technology company InSightec. The device surrounds the head with an array of transducers that can focus ultrasound beams on a single spot in the brain without damaging the skull.

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