AccScience Publishing / GTM / Volume 4 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.36922/gtm.5419
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Predicting magnetic resonance imaging-guided focused ultrasound sonication parameters beyond skull density ratio

Alsu Narkisovna Khatmullina1* Diana Shamilevna Avzaletdinova1,2 Dinara Ilgizovna Nabiullina1 Sergey Nikolaevich Illarioshkin3 Guzaliya Minvazykhovna Sakharova1,2 Naufal Shamilevich Zagidullin1,2 Nadezhdina Ekaterina Andreevna1,2 Shamil Makhmutovich Safin2 Rezida Maratovna Galimova1,2
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1 Intelligent Neurosurgery Clinic, Ltd., V.S. Buzaev International Medical Center, Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia
2 Department of Surgery, Bashkir State Medical University, Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia
3 Institute of the Brain, Research Center of Neurology, Moscow, Russia
Global Translational Medicine 2025, 4(1), 126–135; https://doi.org/10.36922/gtm.5419
Submitted: 22 October 2024 | Revised: 28 December 2024 | Accepted: 7 February 2025 | Published: 10 March 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Precise temperature regulation is essential for effective and safe magnetic resonance imaging-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) treatments. Several variables influence the target temperature during sonication, with the energy delivered being a pivotal physical determinant. The skull density ratio (SDR) is utilized to evaluate the feasibility of treatment, with values below 0.3 – 0.4 generally considered contraindications for treatment. This study aimed to develop a robust predictive model for sonication parameters that can accurately achieve the desired temperature within the target tissue region. We obtained 152 treatment log data from the Insightec Exablate workstation. Variables, including power output, sonication duration, stop sonication button activation, SDR, age, sex, and initial sonication (ALIGN) parameters, were used as predictors (x), with the achieved temperature as the response (y), to construct the predictive models. RStudio was used to build linear models, and the TensorFlow library was employed for the neural network models. The linear and neural network models predicted tissue temperature with a mean absolute error of 2.78°C and 1.93°C, respectively, and a coefficient of determination of 0.71 and 0.76, respectively. The neural network model outperformed the linear model, demonstrating a smaller residual dispersion and a lower root-mean-square deviation. While the neural network model is more accurate and reliable for predicting MRgFUS temperatures, the linear model is easier to use. Key factors, such as sex, age, SDR, and the initial tissue response to the first sonication – the energy delivered during this initial treatment and the corresponding temperature – are crucial for optimizing subsequent sonication parameters such as power, energy, and duration.

Keywords
Magnetic resonance imaging-guided focused ultrasound
Skull density ratio
Sonication
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
Naufal Zagidullin is an Editorial Board Member of this journal and Guest Editor of this special issue but was not in any way involved in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. Separately, other authors declared that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.
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