Skip to Content

Sonic Cure

A wire that radiates sound could bust blood clots and unblock coronary arteries.

A blocked coronary artery can lead to a fatal heart attack, and few treatment options exist. Surgeons can thread a tiny, laser-tipped wire through the artery to peck away at the clot, but if that doesn’t work, they may need to perform open-heart surgery, as they do with 360,000 patients a year. Wilmington, MA-based OmniSonics has an alternative: a wire about the width of the thinnest violin string that emits sound waves. Instead of focusing its energy only straight ahead, as lasers do, the wire produces acoustic energy that radiates outward 360 degrees along its entire length, dissolving the clot and other material built up in the artery but leaving the vessel itself unharmed. The company intends to begin testing on cardiac patients before the end of the year and hopes for U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval by late fall.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

Geoffrey Hinton tells us why he’s now scared of the tech he helped build

“I have suddenly switched my views on whether these things are going to be more intelligent than us.”

ChatGPT is going to change education, not destroy it

The narrative around cheating students doesn’t tell the whole story. Meet the teachers who think generative AI could actually make learning better.

Meet the people who use Notion to plan their whole lives

The workplace tool’s appeal extends far beyond organizing work projects. Many users find it’s just as useful for managing their free time.

Learning to code isn’t enough

Historically, learn-to-code efforts have provided opportunities for the few, but new efforts are aiming to be inclusive.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.