一種高強度聚集超聲系統可以將消融設備放置在跳動的心臟外面，傳輸高強度聚集超聲能量穿過心臟壁進行精確而徹底的心臟組織消融，用來治療心房纖維性顫動。

迄今為止，該系統成功治療的第一例患者是一位71歲的陣發性心房纖維性顫動合并冠心病男性患者。這種系統最初由Epicor醫療公司研發的，在2004年6月St.Jude醫療公司(St. Paul, MN, USA)獲得了該系統。St.Jude公司與華盛頓大學醫學院James Cox醫生緊密合作，研發了自己的高強度聚集超聲消融系統以及相關的外科手術方案。Cox醫生是治療心房纖維性顫動的Cox-Maze外科手術方案的研發者。

在Cox-Maze方案中，在左心房組織中切除迷宮樣模式的組織，阻斷傳播心房纖維性顫動的途徑。該技術有效率達到90％，但是對患者而言屬于高度侵入性手術而且技術上富有挑戰性。而高強度聚集超聲系統允許醫生通過侵入性較小的途徑安全有效地制造簡化星迷宮損傷模式，無需將患者置于心肺旁路支持系統以及將患者心臟停止跳動。

Cox醫生說：“該技術不僅能夠提高心房纖維性顫動治療有效率，而且還能夠提高這種發病率極高的患者治愈數量。”

Cardiac Tissue Ablation with HIFU Energy
 
A high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) system allows an ablation device to be placed on the outside of a beating heart and deliver HIFU energy across the wall of the heart to create precise and complete lines of cardiac tissue ablation to treat atrial fibrillation (AF).

In the first case to date, the system was successfully used to treat a 71-year-old male with paroxysmal AF and co-morbid coronary artery disease. The system was originally developed by Epicor Medical, which was acquired by St. Jude Medical (St. Paul, MN, USA) in June 2004. St. Jude has worked closely with Dr. James Cox, emeritus professor of surgery, Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis, MO, USA) to develop its HIFU ablation system and the related surgical procedure. Dr. Cox is the developer of the Cox-Maze surgical procedure for the treatment of AF.

In the Cox-Maze procedure, maze-like patterns are cut in the left atrial tissue, blocking the pathways that propagate AF. The technique is nearly 90% effective but highly invasive for patients and technically challenging. The HIFU technology allows doctors to safely and effectively create a simplified maze lesion pattern through a less-invasive approach without placing patients on a cardiopulmonary bypass system and arresting their hearts.

“This technology has the potential not only to improve the cure rate for atrial fibrillation but also to increase the number of patients who can be treated for this widely prevalent disease,” commented Dr. Cox.