Low-frequency ultrasound for pulmonary hypertension therapy

Abstract

Currently, there are no reliable clinical tools that allow non-invasive therapeutic support for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. This study aims to propose a low-frequency ultrasound device for pulmonary hypertension therapy and to demonstrate its potential. A novel low-frequency ultrasound transducer has been developed. Due to its structural properties, it is excited by higher vibrational modes, which generate a signal capable of deeply penetrating biological tissues. A methodology for the artificial induction of pulmonary hypertension in sheep and for the assessment of lung physiological parameters such as blood oxygen concentration, pulse rate, and pulmonary blood pressure has been proposed. The results showed that exposure of the lungs to low-frequency ultrasound changed physiological parameters such as blood oxygen concentration, pulse rate and blood pressure. These parameters are most closely related to indicators of pulmonary hypertension (PH). The ultrasound exposure increased blood oxygen concentration over a 7-min period, while pulse rate and pulmonary blood pressure decreased over the same period. In anaesthetised sheep exposed to low-frequency ultrasound, a 10% increase in SpO2, a 10% decrease in pulse rate and an approximate 13% decrease in blood pressure were observed within 7 min. The research findings demonstrate the therapeutic efficiency of low-frequency ultrasound on hypertensive lungs, while also revealing insights into the physiological aspects of gas exchange within the pulmonary system.