Ultrasound scans, such as those used to detect the growth of a fetus, can destroy coronavirus cells by forcing their surface to split apart and implode.
MIT researchers conducted a mathematical analysis based on the physical properties of generic coronavirus cells.
This has revealed that medical ultrasound examinations can damage the virus’ shell and nails, which can lead to collapse and rupture.
Ultrasound has been used as a treatment for kidney stones, but the MIT team is asking for further research on its viability as a treatment for Covid-19.
Pictured is the emergence process of SARS-CoV-2, the first virus to cause Covid-19. A computer study found that ultrasound waves between 25MHz and 100MHz are sufficient to cause the cell to collapse
Computer simulations have modeled a common coronavirus, the family that includes Covid-19, flu and HIV.
They found that the cell surface of the coronavirus splits between 25 and 100 MHz and collapses in less than one millisecond.
At 100MHz, the computer model showed that the shell of the virus collapses because it resonates with the natural vibration frequency of the membrane.
This is a phenomenon that occurs when a specific wave frequency corresponds to the inherent properties of a material and the vibrations are constantly amplified.
The peculiarity of physics is the same mechanism that allows opera singers to smash wine glasses, and is also a problem for bridge builders.
If the frequency of wind or footsteps matches the natural characteristics of the bridge, it wobbles out of control.
This is exactly what happened in 2000 when the Millennium Bridge in London opened and the footsteps of people made it sway significantly.
This occurred at two MHz, but for the virus, the 100 MHz waves caused resonance. Within a fraction of a second, the surface of the model virus was twisted and buckled.
At 25 and 50 MHz, the process is accelerated even further.
“These frequencies and intensities are within the range safely used for medical imaging,” said Tomasz Wierzbicki, professor of applied mechanics at MIT and lead author of the study.
According to the scientists, the results are based on uncomfortable data of the physical characteristics of the virus and should be interpreted with caution.
However, it does offer the possibility that coronavirus infections, including Covid-19, may one day be treated with ultrasound.
Several issues surrounding the feasibility of such a therapeutic technique.
One problem with using ultrasound to fight Covid is how the technique – which is usually applied to a specific area of the body to perform a scan (photo) – can get the virus into a person’s body. direct, as it can spread to a large number of tissues. , including the lungs, brain and nose
One problem is how the technique, which is normally applied to a specific body part to perform a scan, will target the virus in a person’s body, as it can spread to a large number of tissues, including the lungs. , brain and nose.
But MIT engineers say their study is the first discovery within a new research path, and that more studies are needed to verify its long-term viability as a treatment.
‘We have proven that the coronavirus shell and nails will vibrate under ultrasonic excitation, and the amplitude of the vibration will be very large, which will produce strains that can break certain parts of the virus, which can cause visible damage to the outer shell causing and possibly invisible damage. to the RNA, ‘says Professor Wierzbicki.
“The hope is that our paper will start a discussion on different disciplines.”
The full findings are available in the Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids.
The researchers studied the virus from the point of view of its structural integrity and not from a biological perspective.
All materials have a specific set of properties and will fail under certain circumstances.
Information on its strength and flexibility was obtained from previous studies and microscopic analyzes.
This revealed that the virus contains a smooth shell – or shell – that contains the genetic material. The shell is peppered with outstanding proteins that look like nails, giving the crown-like appearance that led to the moniker ‘coronavirus’.
This information was fed into a machine to model how the structure would behave under different conditions.
“We do not know the material properties of the nails, because they are so small – about 10 nanometers high,” says Wierzbicki.
‘Even more unknown is what is inside the virus, which is not empty but filled with RNA, which itself is surrounded by a protein capsule shell. This modeling therefore requires many assumptions. We feel confident that this elastic model is a good starting point. ‘