Use thermophysical property to quantify state of HIFU treatment for VLS

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of ADT methods in grading the effectiveness of HIFU treatment for VLS. High-intensity focused ultrasound has been identified as a promising treatment modality for vulvar lichen sclerosus, a common inflammatory disorder associated with an increased risk of developing vulvar carcinoma. With small probe on extensive VLS parts, the therapy was sometimes uneven, thus the total doses of HIFU machine couldn’t indicate the curative effect at each part. The current therapeutic effect was based on symptoms and skin appearance after 3 months, which was time-consuming. Until now, there has been no immediate quantitative assessment method of HIFU therapeutic response for VLS. In our study, active dynamic IR thermal (ADT) was scheduled to undergo HIFU therapy before and after treatment. The thermal time constant was calculated based on ADT images measured both before and after HIFU treatment. In the result of pig phantom measurements, with each part approximately the same thermal time constant before HIFU treatment, the change of thermal time constant was strictly positively associated with HIFU dose onto each part. This study demonstrates the clinical potential of ADT in fast and effective quantify state of HIFU treatment for VLS.