MR-guided focused ultrasound.

The joining of high-intensity focused ultrasound with high-resolution MR guidance has created a system that can produce tissue destruction deep within solid organs without any invasion. Accurate targeting and thermal mapping are provided by MRI and allow very accurate deposition of energy in tissues that can be altered in response to near real-time thermal imaging produced by MR so that the variation in tissue response that is otherwise observed can be overcome. Current areas of successful application of MR-guided focused ultrasound are described in the treatment of uterine fibroids and other areas of emerging applications in additional solid organs are also discussed.