A Case of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated by MR-guided Focused Ultrasound Ablation with Respiratory Gating

Abstract

Focused ultrasound surgery (FUS) is a method of noninvasive focal thermal ablation. Temperature-sensitive phase-difference magnetic resonance (MR) imaging allows monitoring of the focal point and measurement of tissue temperature elevation in real time, ensuring delivery of a therapeutic dose. A newly developed respiratory monitoring system enables us to track liver tumors, which move with respiration. We report our initial experience using MR-guided FUS with respiratory gating in successfully treating a hepatocellular carcinoma 15 mm in diameter.