Ultrasonic cavitation in medicine: Current status and applications

With rapid advances in ultrasonic technologies, cavitation has emerged as a versatile tool in medicine. Its intense mechanical and chemical effects have been leveraged for biomedical material processing, drug extraction, sterilization, cellular modulation, and targeted drug delivery. This review systematically summarizes recent progress in these applications and highlights cavitation-based clinical strategies, including sonodynamic therapy, tissue fragmentation, and light-mediated ultrasound therapy. While challenges remain-such as incomplete mechanistic understanding and lack of standardized parameters-ultrasonic cavitation holds promise as a controllable, efficient, and environmentally sustainable biophysical modality with significant potential for clinical translation.