# Novel Ultrasonic Technique for the Treatment of Hemorrhagic Stroke

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2021 · $513,747

## Abstract

Project Summary
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is the most common type of hemorrhagic stroke with 4 million
annual cases worldwide. Evacuation of the ICH leads to reduction in intracranial pressure (ICP)
as well as prevention of secondary cerebral injuries. Current strategy for removing ICH requires
an invasive craniotomy and the need for traversing normal brain. Minimally invasive methods
include: 1) craniopuncture/tPA method which requires days for evacuation of ICH and risk of
rehemorrhage; 2) endoscopic ultrasonic aspiration has the force to injure cerebral tissue as well
as the need for learning endoscopic techniques. There is a clear unmet clinical need for a
minimally invasive method that can safely, effectively, and rapidly reduce the ICH volume
without using thrombolytic drugs and be applied with the simplest methodology. We
propose histotripsy as a novel ultrasonic technique that can fully address this unmet
clinical need. Histotripsy uses microsecond duration, high-pressure ultrasound pulses applied
from outside the skull and focused inside the ICH to produce cavitation to liquefy the ICH without
causing brain injury. The liquefied ICH can be immediately drained via a small bore catheter. We
have used histotripsy with electronic focal steering to achieve rapid transcranial ICH liquefaction
(~40 mL in 10 min) and drainage through excised human skulls. We have developed a miniature
hydrophone integrated within the catheter to precisely focus the ultrasound through excised
human skulls and the catheter can also be used for drainage of the liquefied ICH. We have also
demonstrated the in vivo feasibility and safety in a porcine ICH model. We propose three
specific aims toward developing Histotripsy as a novel technique for safely evacuating ICH
and improving outcomes. 1) Design and construct a portable histotripsy ICH system with real-
time 3D feedback that can transcranially liquefy and drain ICH with high precision and efficacy.
2) Validate the targeting precision, treatment location profile, and efficacy of the transcranial
histotripsy ICH system in human ICH phantom and fresh human cadaver. 3) Validate the safety
and efficacy of the transcranial histotripsy ICH system in an established in vivo porcine ICH model.
If these aims are successfully completed, we will establish a portable histotripsy ICH system
suitable for clinical use and proceed towards a clinical trial.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10214710
- **Project number:** 5R01NS108042-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Aditya S Pandey
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $513,747
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-30 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10214710

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10214710, Novel Ultrasonic Technique for the Treatment of Hemorrhagic Stroke (5R01NS108042-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10214710. Licensed CC0.

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