Abstract
The cellular effects of ultrasound can be grouped into those which are predominantly thermal in origin and those which are, at least in part, non-thermal. Cellular effects of ultrasound generally acknowledged to be essentially non-thermal include changes associated with standing waves, acoustic streaming, microstreaming and cavitation; they have been demonstrated in vitro and may, in many instances, also occur in vivo. While some stimulate cell activity and can be exploited in ultrasonic therapy, others are potentially hazardous and must be avoided. Examples of experimentally-demonstrated cellular effects in which non-thermal, ultrasonically-induced events are involved are described, together with the mechanisms considered to be involved in producing them. The relevance of such effects to the safe and beneficial use of ultrasound in diagnosis and therapy is considered.
Full text
PDF
Images in this article
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Dyson M., Franks C., Suckling J. Stimulation of healing of varicose ulcers by ultrasound. Ultrasonics. 1976 Sep;14(5):232–236. doi: 10.1016/0041-624x(76)90024-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Dyson M., Pond J. B., Joseph J., Warwick R. The stimulation of tissue regeneration by means of ultrasound. Clin Sci. 1968 Oct;35(2):273–285. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Dyson M., Pond J. B., Woodward B., Broadbent J. The production of blood cell stasis and endothelial damage in the blood vessels of chick embryos treated with ultrasound in a stationary wave field. Ultrasound Med Biol. 1974 Mar;1(2):133–148. doi: 10.1016/0301-5629(74)90003-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Miller D. L., Nyborg W. L., Whitcomb C. C. Platelet aggregation induced by ultrasound under specialized conditions in vitro. Science. 1979 Aug 3;205(4405):505–507. doi: 10.1126/science.451616. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Watmough D. J., Dendy P. P., Eastwood L. M., Gregory D. W., Gordon F. C., Wheatley D. N. The biophysical effects of therapeutic ultrasound on HeLa cells. Ultrasound Med Biol. 1977;3(2-3):205–219. doi: 10.1016/0301-5629(77)90072-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Webster D. F., Harvey W., Dyson M., Pond J. B. The role of ultrasound-induced cavitation in the 'in vitro' stimulation of collagen synthesis in human fibroblasts. Ultrasonics. 1980 Jan;18(1):33–37. doi: 10.1016/0041-624x(80)90050-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Webster D. F., Pond J. B., Dyson M., Harvey W. The role of cavitation in the in vitro stimulation of protein synthesis in human fibroblasts by ultrasound. Ultrasound Med Biol. 1978;4(4):343–351. doi: 10.1016/0301-5629(78)90023-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- ter Haar G., Daniels S., Eastaugh K. C., Hill C. R. Ultrasonically induced cavitation in vivo. Br J Cancer Suppl. 1982 Mar;5:151–155. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- ter Haar G., Dyson M., Smith S. P. Ultrastructural changes in the mouse uterus brought about by ultrasonic irradiation at therapeutic intensities in standing wave fields. Ultrasound Med Biol. 1979;5(2):167–179. doi: 10.1016/0301-5629(79)90085-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]