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Healing sound: the use of ultrasound in drug delivery and other therapeutic applications

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery volume 4, pages 255–260 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Ultrasound, which is routinely used for diagnostic imaging applications, is now being adopted in various drug delivery and other therapeutic applications. Ultrasound has been shown to facilitate the delivery of drugs across the skin, promote gene therapy to targeted tissues, deliver chemotherapeutic drugs into tumours and deliver thrombolytic drugs into blood clots. In addition, ultrasound has also been shown to facilitate the healing of wounds and bone fractures. This article reviews the principles and current status of ultrasound-based treatments.

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Figure 1: A partial summary of ultrasound frequencies used for medical applications.
Figure 2: Mechanisms of cavitation-based ultrasound therapies.
Figure 3: Schematic representation of a few ultrasound-mediated therapies.

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Acknowledgements

S.M. acknowledges funding from Whitaker Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, 93106, California, USA

    Samir Mitragotri

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S.M. is a stockholder in Sontra Medical Inc. and scientific advisor to CytoDome Inc.

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American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine

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Mitragotri, S. Healing sound: the use of ultrasound in drug delivery and other therapeutic applications. Nat Rev Drug Discov 4, 255–260 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd1662

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