Shrayana Ghosh, Amity University Kolkata
A new technique for removing extremely tough blood clots has been developed by researchers, using engineered nanodroplets and an ultrasound “drill” to break down the clots from within. The approach has not gone through clinical trials yet, promising results have been shown by in vitro testing. Primarily, the new technique is intended to treat retracted blood clots, which are extremely dense and are formed over a prolonged period. These clots are especially hard to treat because of their less porosity than most clots thus making it difficult for medications to penetrate the clots and remove them.
There are two main components to this technique, the nanodroplets, and the ultrasound drill.
The nanodroplets are made up of small lipid spheres filled with liquid perfluorocarbons (PFCs) which have a low boiling point and therefore can turn the liquid into steam on exposure to a small amount of ultrasound energy. The nanodroplets being small in size can penetrate the clots. When ultrasound is applied, the PFCs turn into glass and creates microscopic bubbles. The continuous exposure of the clots to ultrasound oscillates the newly formed microbubbles within the clots. The microbubbles’ swift vibration causes them to function like tiny hammers, disturbing the physical structure of the clot and helps to remove the clots. This vibration often produces wider holes in the mass of the clot that allows blood-borne anti-clotting drugs to reach the clot.
The ultrasound drill, which is an ultrasound transducer is small enough to be inserted into the blood vessel through a catheter, making the technique possible. The drill targets the ultrasound ahead, which makes it extremely accurate. It can also direct sufficient ultrasound energy to the desired position to activate the nanodroplets, without causing damage to healthy tissue surrounding them. The drill integrates a tube at the site of the clot that enables users to inject nanodroplets.
In-vitro tests show that the use of a nanodroplets-ultrasound drill in combination with drug therapy has reduced the size of clots by 40 percent.
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