Minimally invasive treatment options are an important part of the uterine fibroid-treatment arsenal, especially among younger patients and in those who plan future pregnancies. This article provides an overview of the currently available minimally invasive therapy options, with a special emphasis on a completely noninvasive option: magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS). In this ...

With the popularity of ultrasound therapy in clinics, characterization of the acoustic field is important not only to the tolerability and efficiency of ablation, but also for treatment planning. A quantitative method was introduced to assess the intensity distribution of a focused ultrasound beam using a hydrophone and an infrared camera with no prior knowledge of the acoustic and thermal para...

High-intensity focused ultrasound therapy is a novel, emerging, therapeutic modality that uses ultrasound waves, propagated through tissue media, as carriers of energy. This completely non-invasive technology has great potential for tumor ablation as well as hemostasis, thrombolysis and targeted drug/gene delivery. However, the application of this technology still has many drawbacks. It is expe...

Background: Magnetic resonance guided high intensity focused ultrasound (MRgHIFU) therapy is a promising new technology to ablate tissues non-invasively. Exact knowledge of the location of the target organ as well as the risk structures on the beam path is crucial to a successful therapy. One particularly important structure is the ribcage due to its vicinity to the liver, and bones’ absorption...

While it has been argued that panic disorder is essentially the result of biochemical abnormalities associated with genetic predisposition (Sheehan, 1982), a recent literature review by Rapee (1987) concluded that psychological theories have been better supported by recent empirical research in this area. A central cognitive component of panic disorder is catastrophic misinterpretation of physi...

Multiple clinical studies have shown that interstitial photodynamic therapy (I-PDT) is a promising modality in the treatment of locally-advanced cancerous tumors. However, the utilization of I-PDT has been limited to several centers. The objective of this focused review is to highlight the different approaches employed to administer I-PDT with photosensitizers that are either approved or in cli...

Although the failure to develop a satisfying intimate relationship with one’s partner is the single most frequently presented problem in therapy (Horowitz, 1979), couples therapy, the modality that most directly addresses this problem, is a relatively young discipline. In this discipline, systematic approaches to changing distressed relationships are still being developed and evaluated. At pres...