Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound can be safely and effectively used as the primary treatment of pain palliation in patients with bone metastases and has a potential role in local tumor control.

The concept of ideal tumor surgery is to remove the neoplastic tissue without damaging adjacent normal structures. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) was developed in the 1940s as a viable thermal tissue ablation approach. In clinical practice, HIFU has been applied to treat a variety of solid benign and malignant lesions, including pancreas, liver, prostate, and breast carcinomas, soft tissue sarcomas, and uterine fibroids. More recently, magnetic resonance guidance has been applied for treatment monitoring during focused ultrasound procedures (magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound, MRgFUS). Intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging provides the best possible tumor extension and dynamic control of energy deposition using real-time magnetic resonance imaging thermometry. We introduce the fundamental principles and clinical indications of the MRgFUS technique; we also report different treatment options and personal outcomes.

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CTA is the most accurate technique for evaluating carotid stenoses, with a slightly better performance than MRA (97% vs. 95% for SS MRA and 92% for FP MRA) and a greater accuracy than CDUS (97% vs. 76%). Blood-pool contrast-enhanced SS sequences offer improved evaluation of degree of stenosis and plaque morphology with accuracy substantially identical to CTA.