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B. Devcic-Kuhar, S. Pfaffenberger, M. Gröschl, C. Kollmann, E. Benes, M. Gottsauner-Wolf:
"In vitro thrombolysis enhanced by standing and travelling ultrasound wave fields";
Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, 28 (2002), 1181 - 1187.

Success of thrombolytic therapy depends on penetration of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator
(rt-PA) into clots. Ultrasound (US) of therapeutic quality accelerates thrombolysis in vitro. As yet, only the effects
of travelling acoustic waves on thrombolysis have been investigated, and the impact of standing acoustic waves
has been neglected. In the present study, we examined the effects of standing and travelling US wave fields
applied continuously for 1 h (frequency 2 MHz, acoustic intensity 1.2 W/cm2) on thrombolysis enhancement by
measuring clot weight reduction and concentration of fibrin degradation product D-dimer (FDP-DD) produced
from clots subjected to rt-PA. The level of FDP-DD was 1.8 times greater in travelling than in standing acoustic
waves. Thrombolysis enhancement was 46.0 20.8% in standing and 116.8 23.1% in travelling acoustic waves.
Travelling waves enhanced thrombolysis significantly more (p < 0.0001) than did standing waves. (E-mail:
devcic@iap.tuwien.ac.at) © 2002 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.
Key Words: Thrombolysis, Sonothrombolysis, Plasminogen activator, Ultrasound, Standing acoustic waves,
Travelling acoustic waves, Ultrasound mechanisms, Fibrin degradation product.