Optimizing Ultrasound Settings in Ultrasound and Microbubble Treatment of ARDS

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a severe disorder commonly found in intensive care units (ICUs) and results in high mortality. Characterized by fluid leakage into alveolar sacs, the heterogeneity of injury reduces effectiveness of current treatments. Ultrasoundmediated microbubble treatment has been used to successfully deliver cargo in a targeted manner to injured lung tissue. To further develop this method as a treatment, the optimal ultrasound settings for efficient cargo delivery need to be established. An ultrasound phantom model was used to correlate ultrasound settings with varying amounts of inertial cavitation. Three ultrasound settings corresponding to mostly inertial cavitation, mostly stable cavitation, and a mix of both were used to delivery cargo to adherent cells. Inertial cavitation induced more delivery and decreased cell viability compared to non-inertial cavitation. Further research using animal models is needed to optimize ultrasound settings for cargo delivery and develop USMB as a treatment for ARDS.