Feasibility of intercostal high intensity focused ultrasound ablation of clinically relevant volumes under the application of beam shaping

Obstruction by the thoracic cage of the high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) beam is one of the major challenges in the ablation of abdominal lesions. Several beam shaping methods have been proposed to reduce exposure of the ribs to acoustic energy and to recover focal point intensity. The feasibility of HIFU ablation of a clinically relevant volume applying beam shaping remains however unaddressed. In this study, feasibility was evaluated based on exposure of both the ribs as well as the near-field to acoustic energy. In addition, the volumetric ablation rate was estimated to evaluate whether clinically relevant ablation speeds can be achieved.