Experimental cataract production by high frequency ultrasound.

In vivo animal experiments were performed to study the cataractogenic effects of high-frequency, high-intensity ultrasound. A series of anesthetized rabbits was insonified with quantified exposures of ultrasound using a 9.8 MHz focused ultrasonic beam. Ophthalmoscopic and slit lamp examinations revealed small haze cataracts as the first stage of lenticular damage. Larger exposures produced totally opaque cataracts. These first appeared as fine white threads surrounded by haze cataracts. The intensity-exposure time conjugates required to produce haze cataracts were determined over times ranging from 35 msec to 5 sec. At short times (under 100 msec) a relatively constant amount of energy was needed for cataract production. At longer times, the requried energy progressively increased. This observation, together with the physical appearance of these cataracts, suggests that those lesions are the result of thermal phenomena.