San Francisco, Calif. - July 8, 2025 - Openwater, an open-source medical technology company delivering portable, hospital-grade diagnostic and therapeutic devices, today announced new research showing that low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) can effectively break down amyloid fibrinogen microclots associated with long COVID symptoms. Published in the Journal of Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, the in vitro study demonstrates low-frequency ultrasound at 150 kHz is the most effective frequency for reducing both microclot count and size.
Approximately 60% of U.S. adults have had COVID, and of those, 30% report lingering long COVID symptoms, including fatigue, pain, breathlessness, headaches, and cognitive difficulties. Amyloid fibrinogen microclots, tiny protein aggregates that can disrupt perfusion and cause inflammation, are linked to these symptoms.
Current therapies, including clot-dissolving drugs, like recombinant tissue plasminogen activators (rtPA), and invasive blood filtration, often fail to fully resolve microclots and can pose significant risks. In order to improve the lysis, or disintegration, of these clots, researchers theorized microbubble-assisted ultrasound or rtPA-assisted ultrasound may improve the standard of care, and set out to understand the exact effects of ultrasound therapy alone and in combination with these additional measures.
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In the study, Low-Intensity Ultrasound Lysis of Amyloid Microclots in a Lab-on-Chip Model, researchers created artificial microclots mimicking those found in long COVID patients. Using Openwater’s Open-LIFU technology, they tested how effectively LIFU could break down clots at different frequencies. Microclots were exposed to ultrasound waves at 150 kHz, 300 kHz, 500 kHz, and 1 MHz under four conditions: ultrasound alone, ultrasound with microbubbles, ultrasound with rtPA, and ultrasound with both microbubbles and rtPA.
The study found that 150 kHz ultrasound significantly fragmented these hard-to-treat clots, reducing their size and number by up to threefold. Openwater’s study establishes non-invasive LIFU as a safe and effective treatment, capable of breaking down microclots without surgery or pharmaceuticals.
Key findings from the study include:
Low-frequency (150 kHz) ultrasound alone can break down microclots up to three times more effectively than higher frequencies, without the need for exogenous microbubbles or additional drugs.
