Primary treatment of painful bone metastases using magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound – initial clinical experience in Taiwan

Methods Between May and June 2014, 8 patients suffering from painful bone metastases were identified and recruited by the radiation oncology departments of Taipei Medical University Hospital, Wan Fang Hospital and Shuang Ho Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan. All patients chose to undergo MRgFUS treatment as their first choice of treatment for their painful bone lesions. Treatment was conducted using the ExAblate system (InSightec Ltd.), which integrates a focused ultrasound phased array therapeutic compartment with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner (GE 1.5T MRI). Therapeutic ultrasound waves were targeted to the painful lesions while monitoring the accumulated heat using real-time MR images. Efficacy of MRgFUS treatment was evaluated using the numerical rating scale (NRS), before treatment, and at 1 and 3 days; 1 and 2 weeks and at 1 month after treatment. (3 months follow-up results will be collected and reported when available).