Software Assistance for HIFU Therapy Planning.

High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a promising technology for cancer treatment. Thereby, heating due to the focusing of the ultrasound non-invasively destroys the tumors. At the present state, the method is clinically restricted to uterine fibroids, adenomyosis, bone metastasis and prostate cancer. In abdominal organs as e.g. the liver, the motion due to breathing causes problems for the focusing. Further challenges are mainly generated by the different tissue properties, e.g. the absorption rate, of the diverse anatomical structures and the blood perfusion. The blood perfusion cools the tissue and therefore influences the resulting thermal necrosis considerably.