Low-intensity focused ultrasound a noninvasive treatment option for lingering COVID symptoms
Low intensity focused ultrasound can significantly improve some of the most common symptoms related to long COVID.
A new study conducted by medical tech company Openwater indicates that the noninvasive technique can effectively break down amyloid fibrinogen microclots. The clots are believed to interfere with perfusion and cause inflammation that contributes to the fatigue, pain, breathlessness, headaches and brain fog many continue to endure months after recovering from the virus.
“These microclots persist in circulation and obstruct microvasculature, impair oxygen transport and promote chronic inflammation,” Soren Konecky, PhD, chief technology officer at Openwater, and colleagues explained. “Conventional thrombolytic therapies such as recombinant tissue plasminogen activator show limited efficacy against these microclots due to their structure and composition.”
For the study, researchers created artificial microclots to replicate those associated with COVID using freeze-thaw cycles followed by incubation. The team then exposed the clots to different intensities of ultrasound waves—at 150 kHz, 300 kHz, 500 kHz, and 1 MHz; they also were exposed under four conditions: ultrasound alone, ultrasound with microbubbles, ultrasound with recombinant tissue plasminogen (rtPA) activator and ultrasound with both microbubbles and rtPA.
Out of these, the team noted the best clot-busting capabilities using ultrasound at 150 kHz. This method resulted in a threefold reduction in both size and number of clots. The group also noted that adding microbubbles at 150, 300, and 500 kHz improved clot disintegration as well.
“Our findings support the potential of ultrasound-enhanced therapy for amyloid-associated coagulopathies where persistent microclots impair vascular function and suggest ultrasound-based treatments could serve as a noninvasive tool to restore blood flow and improve oxygenation in affected patients,” the authors suggested.
While the team believes their results are promising, there is much more research to be done before the method can be deployed in real-world settings. Next steps include testing low intensity focused ultrasound in in vivo microenvironments, testing additional frequencies and conducting a series of quantitative mapping assessments.
Learn more about the study in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.