An overview of the influence of therapeutic ultrasound exposures on the vasculature: High intensity ultrasound and microbubble-mediated bioeffects

It is well established that the interaction of ultrasound with soft tissues can induce a wide range of bioeffects. One of the most important and complex of these interactions in the context of therapeutic ultrasound is with the vasculature. Potential vascular effects range from enhancing microvascular permeability to inducing vascular damage and vessel occlusion. While aspects of these effects are broadly understood, the development of improved approaches to exploit these effects and gain a more detailed mechanistic understanding is ongoing and largely anchored in preclinical research. Here a general overview of this established yet rapidly evolving topic is provided, with a particular emphasis on effects arising from high-intensity focused ultrasound and microbubble-mediated exposures.