In vitro sonothrombolysis of human blood clots with BR38 microbubbles

Abstract

Sonothrombolysis (STL) is a promising new treatment for ischemic stroke combining microbubbles and ultrasound (US), which relies on the dissolution of blood clots causing occlusions of vessels. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the thrombolysis efficacy of BR38, a new microbubble (MB) formulation of Bracco Suisse. For the assessment of clot dissolution, a non-contacting method based on optical imaging of clots and image processing has been developed. For clot lysis, BR38 combined with US at 400 kPa (peak-negative pressure) was as efficient as a low dose of rt-PA (0.3 μg/mL). The roles of pulse length (10 ms to 1000 ms) and acoustic pressure (400, 500 and 600 kPa) for promoting thrombolysis were assessed. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.