Comment by BobaFloutist

11 hours ago

That's like asking how if a laser can cut through steel how lamps can be safe to have indoors.

Do you have a link or something that compares the power in both? I can't find one.

This is the summary I get from chatgpt - comparing Histotripsy and ultrasound imaging

| Property | Strongest Diagnostic / Imaging Ultrasound | Histotripsy (Therapeutic Ultrasound |

| Frequency | 2 – 10 MHz (obstetric: 2–5 MHz; high-res imaging up to 15 MHz) | 0.25 – 3 MHz (sometimes up to 6 MHz) |

| Pressure (Peak Negative) | Up to ~5–6 MPa (mechanical index limit ≈ 1.9) | 10 – 100 MPa (depending on type: intrinsic vs. boiling histotripsy) |

| Intensity (Spatial Peak, Temporal Average) | Typically < 0.1 W/cm²; upper safe limit ≈ 0.72 W/cm² (FDA/AIUM) | 100 – 10,000 W/cm² (very high peak intensities) |

| Pulse Duration | Microseconds (∼1–5 µs typical) | Microseconds to milliseconds (short bursts for mechanical disruption) |

Its kind of hard to know what this means - some of the numbers seem pretty close/crossover - but I don't think saying the difference is akin to a laser and a light.

  • There are 2 to 5 orders of magnitude difference in intensity. That alone is a pretty big difference.

    • It's a big difference, but it is not obvious to me that there can be no harmful impact from imaging.