Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2026, Vol. 21 ›› Issue (3): 1183-1190.doi: 10.4103/NRR.NRR-D-24-00128

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Therapeutic effects of low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation on ischemic stroke in rats: An in vivo evaluation using electrical impedance tomography

Jiecheng Guo1, #, Sixuan He1, #, Li Yan1 , Lei Wang1 , Xuetao Shi2 , Huijing Hu1, *, Le Li1, *   

  1. 1 Xi’an Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Institute of Medical Research, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China;  2 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Air Force Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China
  • Online:2026-03-15 Published:2025-07-05
  • Contact: Huijing Hu, PhD, huhuijing@nwpu.edu.cn; Le Li, PhD, lile5@nwpu.edu.cn.
  • Supported by:
    This study was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Nos. G2021KY05107, G2021KY05101; the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Nos. 32071316, 32211530049; the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province, No. 2022-JM482; and the Education and Teaching Reform Funds for the Central Universities, No. 23GZ230102 (all to LL and HH).

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Abstract: Although previous studies have demonstrated that transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation protects the ischemic brain, clear criteria for the stimulation time window and intensity are lacking. Electrical impedance tomography enables real-time monitoring of changes in cerebral blood perfusion within the ischemic brain, but investigating the feasibility of using this method to assess post-stroke rehabilitation in vivo remains critical. In this study, ischemic stroke was induced in rats through middle cerebral artery occlusion surgery. Transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation was used to treat the rat model of ischemia, and electrical impedance tomography was used to measure impedance during both the acute stage of ischemia and the rehabilitation stage following the stimulation. Electrical impedance tomography results indicated that cerebral impedance increased after the onset of ischemia and decreased following transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation. Furthermore, the stimulation promoted motor function recovery, reduced cerebral infarction volume in the rat model of ischemic stroke, and induced the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the ischemic brain. Our results also revealed a significant correlation between the impedance of the ischemic brain post-intervention and improvements in behavioral scores and infarct volume. This study shows that daily administration of transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation for 20 minutes to the ischemic hemisphere 24 hours after cerebral ischemia enhanced motor recovery in a rat model of ischemia. Additionally, our findings indicate that electrical impedance tomography can serve as a valuable tool for quantitatively evaluating rehabilitation after ischemic stroke in vivo. These findings suggest the feasibility of using impedance data collected via electrical impedance tomography to clinically assess the effects of rehabilitatory interventions for patients with ischemic stroke.

Key words: animal model, brain stimulation, electrical impedance tomography, evaluation, impedance, noninvasive treatment, real-time monitoring, rehabilitation, stroke, transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation