ArticleJournal of therapeutic ultrasound2014
Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound treatment of facet joint pain: summary of preclinical phase.
Article in Journal of therapeutic ultrasound, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Fluoroscopy-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation of the lumbar medial branch nerves: dose escalation study and comparison with radiofrequency ablation in a porcine model.Regional anesthesia and pain medicine · 2025Article
- Update on musculoskeletal applications of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound.Skeletal radiology · 2024Review
- Image-Guided Minimally Invasive Treatment Options for Degenerative Lumbar Spine Disease: A Practical Overview of Current Possibilities.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Focused Ultrasound Ablation of Lumbar Facet Joints of a Patient With a Magnetic Resonance Image Non-Conditional Pacemaker at 1.5T.Mayo Clinic proceedings. Innovations, quality & outcomes · 2020Article
- Improved Treatment Response Following Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Focused Ultrasound for Lumbar Facet Joint Pain.Mayo Clinic proceedings. Innovations, quality & outcomes · 2020Article
- Ablation of the sacroiliac joint using MR-guided high intensity focused ultrasound: a preliminary experiment in a swine model.Journal of therapeutic ultrasound · 2017Article
- MRI-guided focused ultrasound ablation of lumbar medial branch nerve: Feasibility and safety study in a swine model.International journal of hyperthermia : the official journal of European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology, North American Hyperthermia Group · 2016Article
- Evaluation of MRI protocols for the assessment of lumbar facet joints after MR-guided focused ultrasound treatment.Journal of therapeutic ultrasound · 2016Article
- MRI-guided focused ultrasound surgery in musculoskeletal diseases: the hot topics.The British journal of radiology · 2016Review
- A review of percutaneous techniques for low back pain and neuralgia: current trends in epidural infiltrations, intervertebral disk and facet joint therapies.The British journal of radiology · 2016Review
- Feasibility Study on MR-Guided High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Ablation of Sciatic Nerve in a Swine Model: Preliminary Results.Cardiovascular and interventional radiology · 2015Article
- Article
- Effects of magnetic resonance-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation on bone mechanical properties and modeling.Journal of therapeutic ultrasound · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
STUDY
designA phantom experiment, two thermocouple experiments, three in vivo pig experiments, and a simulated treatment on a healthy human volunteer were conducted to test the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) for treating facet joint pain.
objectiveThe goal of the current study was to develop a novel method for accurate and safe noninvasive facet joint ablation using MRgFUS. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Facet joints are a common source of chronic back pain. Direct facet joint interventions include medial branch nerve ablation and intra-articular injections, which are widely used, but limited in the short and long term. MRgFUS is a breakthrough technology that enables accurate delivery of high-intensity focused ultrasound energy to create a localized temperature rise for tissue ablation, using MR guidance for treatment planning and real-time feedback.
methodsWe validated the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of MRgFUS for facet joint ablation using the ExAblate 2000® System (InSightec Ltd., Tirat Carmel, Israel) and confirmed the system's ability to ablate the edge of the facet joint and all terminal nerves innervating the joint. A phantom experiment, two thermocouple experiments, three in vivo pig experiments, and a simulated treatment on a healthy human volunteer were conducted.
resultsThe experiments showed that targeting the facet joint with energies of 150-450 J provides controlled and accurate heating at the facet joint edge without penetration to the vertebral body, spinal canal, or root foramina. Treating with reduced diameter of the acoustic beam is recommended since a narrower beam improves access to the targeted areas.
conclusionsMRgFUS can safely and effectively target and ablate the facet joint. These results are highly significant, given that this is the first study to demonstrate the potential of MRgFUS to treat facet joint pain.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.