The effects of therapeutic ultrasound on open wounds

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness of therapeutic ultrasound (US) therapy in the treatment of open wounds as an adjunct to the usual and customary treatment provided by physical therapists. An exhaustive search of all published studies on the effects of therapeutic ultrasound on open wounds was performed. Every article, which met certain criteria, was reviewed in detail. Criteria included the use of human subjects, animal subjects, or human cells in vitro, publication in referred journals indexed by MEDLINE, CINAHL and availability of full text in the English language. Fourteen studies met the selection criteria. A total of 31 possible outcomes were available from these studies. Outcomes were categorized as positive, negative or non-significant. The results indicated a total of seventeen positives, eight negatives and six non-significant outcomes. The results of the analysis indicate that there is evidence in the literature to suggest that therapeutic US is beneficial in the treatment of open wounds.

Improving performance of a permeable reactive barrier in the degradation of trichloroethylene using ultrasound

The impact of ultrasound on improving the performance of a granular iron Permeable Reactive Barrier (PRB) in the degradation of Trichloroethylene (TCE) was evaluated. Two treatment columns made of clear Plexiglas with a height of 1ft and a diameter of 2 inches and filled with granular iron were used. One was fitted with 25Khz ultrasound probes. A solution of TCE was run through at constant flow rate. Samples obtained from the column at different residence times before and after sonication were analyzed for concentrations of TCE and used to generate concentration profiles to obtain rate constants, which were compared. An improvement of 23.4% in the reaction rate of TCE degradation was observed after sonication of the iron media suggesting that ultrasound may contribute to improving the performance of PRBs in the degradation of TCE in contaminated groundwater.