Performing Brain Surgery with Focused Sound Waves

Imagine going in for a brain procedure where you have to endure neither an invasive, cut-you-up procedure nor radiation treatment. When it was finished, you could enjoy a glass of bubbly with your doctors, and go home shortly thereafter. It's close to becoming a reality. Israeli firm Insightec has developed a device called the ExAblate 4000, which combines an MRI with ultrasound, and doctors at University Children's Hospital Zurich have used that machine to locate lesions in the brain, then burn them away using ultrasound. Previously, it had been difficult to use ultrasound for brain treatments, because the skull naturally distorts soundwaves. This new system uses over 1,000 ultrasound transducers that can be specifically adjusted to each individual skull. The waves, absorbed by the skull, are converted to heat energy, which reaches 130 degrees Fahrenheit. This focused energy is able to destroy cells in a precise 10-cubic-millimeter...

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