Abstract:Objective To investigate the synergistic effects of focused ultrasound (FUS) on normal rabbit liver ablation with lauromacrogol (LAU). Methods Twenty-six healthy New Zealand rabbits were randomized to three groups: FUS group(n=6), LAU group(n=10), FUS+LAU group(n=10), which were given FUS exposure, lauromacrogol injection,lauromacrogol injection combined with synchronous FUS exposure respectively. The spatial peak time average intensity(ISPTA) of FUS focus is 30.0W/cm2, with a duty cycle of 50%. Forty-eight hours later, the performance of anatomic and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography of the processing area was observed,and the largest diameter of filling defect was measured. The ablation volume was measured by graduated cylinder, and the histological changes were observed through HE stain. Wilcoxon rank sum test was applied to compare the difference of the largest diameter as well as ablation volume between LAU group and FUS+LAU group. Results Liver ablation was not found in FUS group, while that was found in both LAU group and FUS+LAU group with similar performance. The average largest diameter of LAU group and FUS+LAU group were (0.73±0.15)mm and (0.91±0.16)mm respectively,which showed significant difference(Z=-2.077,P=0.038). The average ablation volume were (0.19±0.06)ml and (0.47±0.20)ml respectively, which showed significant difference (Z=-3.182,P=0.001). The average ablation volume of FUS+LAU group was about 2.5 times that of LAU group. Hepatocyte necrosis was typical in both groups. Conclusion The synchronous application of focused ultrasound enhanced the ablation effect of lauromacrogol on rabbit liver and produced obvious synergistic effect.