The Focused Ultrasound Foundation, dedicated to improving lives by advancing a transformative non-invasive treatment technology, has received a one-year $1 million unrestricted challenge grant from an anonymous donor. The grant will match dollar-for-dollar the first $1 million given to support the Foundation’s programs in 2015.
A pre-clinical study published this week in Science Translational Medicine suggests that focused ultrasound may hold a key to providing a non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease.
A pioneering clinical trial is testing whether focusing high-frequency sound waves onto the surface of bone where cancer has spread can burn away the source of pain.
A recently published report in the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry supports the potential of focused ultrasound to treat certain patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
October 27, 2014 – Charlottesville, VA – The 4th International Symposium on Focused Ultrasound featured clinical and research advances on the use of this non-invasive therapeutic technology to treat conditions as diverse as Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor, obsessive compulsive disorder, several cancers, hypertension and uterine fibroids. More than 400 clinicians, scientists, government and industry representatives from around the world gathered from October 12-16 to share the latest translational and clinical research in image-guided focused ultrasound.
Tony and Jonna Mendez, former CIA spymasters, talked about Tony’s experience as the mastermind of the ARGO mission and their careers in intelligence technical development. Tony also spoke about his latest mission of managing Parkinson’s disease and supporting focused ultrasound at the 4th International Symposium on the Current and Future Applications of Focused Ultrasound on Tuesday, October 14, 2014. It was here that he spoke publicly for the first time about his Parkinson’s Disease.
A briefing featuring key data presented at the 4th International Symposium on Focused Ultrasound, the world's leading forum dedicated to the latest clinical and translational developments in this non-invasive therapy. Global experts will highlight advances in the use of focused ultrasound to treat brain disorders and cancers as well as share promising data on several emerging applications.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – (September 16, 2014) – The Focused Ultrasound Foundation has recruited Mike Cashman as Co-Director of Development. Cashman joins Pamela Minetti to expand the development effort and take the Foundation’s unique venture philanthropy model to new supporters, increase the reach of our message, and create novel partnerships with like-minded organizations. The addition of this new position will further the Foundation’s efforts to accelerate the development of new applications of focused ultrasound and its widespread adoption as a standard of care.
A press briefing will be conducted featuring key data presented at the 4th International Symposium on Focused Ultrasound. Global experts will highlight advances in the use of focused ultrasound – a non-invasive therapeutic technology – to treat brain disorders, cancers and pain, as well as share promising data on several emerging applications.
A patient at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is the first child in North America to have undergone a specialized procedure that uses ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to destroy a tumour in his leg without piercing the skin. Doctors used an MRI to guide high-intensity ultrasound waves to destroy a benign bone tumour called osteoid osteoma. The lesion had caused 16-year-old Jack Campanile excruciating pain for a year prior to the July 17 procedure. By the time he went to bed that night, the athletic teen experienced complete pain relief.
Lian Zhang, MD, gastroenterologist with the Clinical Center for Tumor Therapy, Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing University of Medical Sciences, met with Alan Matsumoto, MD, Co-Director of the UVA Focused Ultrasound Center. Focused Ultrasound is a breakthrough technology that uses multiple intersecting beams of ultrasound energy guided by magnetic resonance or ultrasound imaging to treat tissue deep in the body without incisions or radiation.
Abstract submission is now open for the Focused Ultrasound Foundation's Symposium, Current and Future Applications of Focused Ultrasound 2014.” The Foundation welcomes abstracts related to preclinical, translational, or clinical research that involves the use of image-guided focused ultrasound. Topics of interest include treatments for the brain, bone, breast, liver, prostate, uterine fibroids, and other emerging applications.
A European collaborative group has begun a translational research project to develop a clinical system that would enable the treatment of a moving internal organ, such as the liver, using focused beams of ultrasound. The TRANS-FUSIMO (Clinical Translation of the Focused Ultrasound in Moving Objects) project builds on an earlier collaboration (FUSIMO) between 11 European countries that created simulation software.
Presentations at the recent symposium of The International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound (ISTU) demonstrate an increasing body of data supporting the potential of focused ultrasound to transform the treatment of a wide range of diseases. This early-stage, non-invasive technology could be a cost-effective alternative or adjunct to traditional surgery, radiation therapy, and drug delivery to treat conditions such as brain tumors, movement disorders, prostate cancer, and soft tissue tumors. Currently approved in the U.S. for the treatment of uterine fibroids and painful bone metastases, many healthcare experts consider focused ultrasound a disruptive technology to watch.
Researchers in Zurich, Switzerland have successfully used focused ultrasound for the first time to non-invasively ablate part of a recurrent glioma tumor through a patient’s intact skull. The procedure was performed to assess the feasibility and safety of focused ultrasound in treating brain tumors; it was not intended to demonstrate efficacy. The procedure was conducted using InSightec's Exablate Neuro system.
Frederic Moll, M.D., a serial medical device entrepreneur, will kick off the 4th International Symposium on Focused Ultrasound in October 2014 with a keynote presentation titled, “Developing a New, Disruptive Therapeutic Modality: From Laboratory Research Tool to Standard of Care.”
The Focused Ultrasound Foundation and Philips have entered into an innovative public-private collaboration with The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. The partnership will create a focal point for ultrasound therapy research at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and The Royal Marsden in London under the international Focused Ultrasound Foundation Centers of Excellence Program.
The Focused Ultrasound Foundation has been awarded a $600,000 grant by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to help fund a pilot study to determine the feasibility, safety and preliminary efficacy of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound for the treatment of dyskinesia in Parkinson’s disease.
The Focused Ultrasound Foundation, Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX:PHIA) and InSightec Ltd today announced that they are collaborating with leading clinicians in the field and support the establishment of a multicenter registry to evaluate MR-guided focused ultrasound treatment for uterine fibroids (also known as uterine leiomyomas).
The Focused Ultrasound Foundation today announced a new clinical trial investigating the use of focused ultrasound technology in treating patients with tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease.
A press briefing at the 3rd International Symposium on Focused Ultrasound will introduce media to an innovative alternative to surgery – focused ultrasound technology – and the medical areas where it is being studied, including cancer, epilepsy and stroke.
A press briefing at the 3rd International Symposium on Focused Ultrasound will introduce media to an innovative alternative to surgery – focused ultrasound technology – and the medical areas where it is being studied, including cancer, epilepsy and stroke.
Edward D. Miller, MD, chief executive officer of Johns Hopkins Medicine, a $6.5 billion integrated global health enterprise and one of the nation’s premier health care systems, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation.
Medical research activist, philanthropist and financier Michael Milken has joined the Focused Ultrasound Foundation Council, a select group of advisors and advocates who are helping to advance the organization’s mission. The Foundation is accelerating development and adoption of focused ultrasound therapies for many devastating illnesses.
The Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation's Research Awards Program is funding a Mayo Clinic study that will be the first to use U.S. commercial database information to compare the costs of three minimally-invasive treatments for symptomatic uterine fibroids, a benign and often debilitating condition that affects more than one in four American women.
In a presentation at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, University of Virginia neurosurgeon W. Jeffrey Elias, MD said that preliminary results of a pilot clinical trial indicate that noninvasive MR-guided focused ultrasound has the potential to safely and effectively control essential tremor, a neurological condition affecting 10 million Americans.
The Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation has announced the selection of Wladyslaw Gedroyc, MD of Imperial College and Saint Mary’s Hospital in London as Honorary President of the 3rd International Symposium on MR-guided Focused Ultrasound. Gedroyc is a widely recognized pioneer in the development of noninvasive patient treatments using MR-guided focused ultrasound.
The Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation’s latest Research Award recipient is Nathan McDannold, PhD. The $112,002 award will support efforts to increase the regions in the brain that can be safely targeted by MR-guided focused ultrasound, an innovative, noninvasive medical technology. McDannold heads the Focused Ultrasound Laboratory at Harvard Medical School.
Hypoxic (oxygen-deprived) tumor cells usually resist radiation and chemotherapy, making them a key challenge in treating cancer. Researcher Xin Chen, PhD believes that MR-guided focused ultrasound could reduce this problem, benefiting patients with malignant solid tumors in areas such as the liver, prostate and breast.
The last decade has been challenging for Billy R. Williams. The former Pentagon employee, who survived the 9/11 terrorist attack, has suffered from essential tremor (ET), a progressively debilitating condition. In February 2011, he became the first ET patient in the world to receive MR-guided focused ultrasound therapy. Results have been dramatically positive.
Medical researchers have a critical role to play in gaining optimal health insurance reimbursement for MR-guided focused ultrasound. As Susan Klees, Director of Patient Access for the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation, reports, “Scientific evidence is the key driver for reimbursement, and it all begins with the way studies are designed.”
On June 12, 2011, CBS Evening News reported Stephanie Small’s gripping story. Suffering from a large uterine fibroid, the 27 year-old was treated with MR-guided focused ultrasound at the University of Virginia. The treatment changed her life, and Small is now an advocate for both focused ultrasound and patient empowerment, especially among young women like herself.
What’s easier: gaining regulatory approval for a new medical device, or convincing insurers to cover the treatments it provides? According to Susan Klees of the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation, many experts say regulatory approval is the easier task.
The Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation reports that its research award disbursements have exceeded $2 million and funding applications have soared in recent months. To manage the surge in applications, the Foundation has replaced its rolling funding process with a quarterly schedule.
The Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation has announced the dates and location for the 3rd International Symposium on MR-guided Focused Ultrasound. The meeting will be held October 14-17, 2012 at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in Bethesda, MD, USA.
A new chapter in medical history opened days ago when noninvasive MR-guided focused ultrasound was used to successfully treat a patient with essential tremor (ET), a progressive neurological disorder that affects millions of people worldwide and causes involuntary shaking of the hands, head, face, eyelids, voice or other muscles.
A special men’s health update from the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation spotlights new minimally-invasive and highly precise treatments for prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The new treatments are expected to greatly reduce incontinence and impotence, which are common side effects associated with prostate procedures.
The Board of Directors of the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation has announced the election of Frederic H. Moll, M.D., a serial entrepreneur whose start-up ventures have included Intuitive Surgical, Inc., manufacturer of one of today’s most successful and innovative medical devices, the da Vinci Surgical System.
Ten early career scientists have received 2010 Young Investigator Awards from the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation. “We applaud the work of these young researchers,” said Foundation Chairman, Neal Kassell, M.D. “They are making a major difference in the emerging field of MR-guided focused ultrasound and helping to chart its future direction.”
The Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation is hosting the 2nd International Symposium on MR-guided Focused Ultrasound from October 17-20. Hot topics include new patient uses – prostate and breast cancer, facet joint pain and essential tremor – and ground-breaking research in blood-brain barrier disruption, ischemic stroke and stem cell activation.
Ten awards of up to $1,000 are available for young investigators whose abstracts are selected for oral or poster presentation at the 2nd International Symposium on MR-guided Focused Ultrasound. Recipients will be given special recognition during the October 17 to 20 symposium and receive funding for travel and lodging as well as free registration.
Due to overwhelming response from researchers, a second round of abstract submissions for the upcoming 2nd International Symposium on MR-guided Focused Ultrasound will open on Monday, August 23, 2010, nine days earlier than previously announced. The deadline for abstract submissions will be moved forward to Monday, September 6, 2010.
Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D., a thought leader and healthcare visionary,has been elected to the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation’s Board of Directors. The only person to have led both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Cancer Institute, he was named one of the “100 most influential people to shape the world” in 2006 by Time magazine.
Scientists and clinicians who are researching uses of MR-guided focused ultrasound are encouraged to submit abstracts for the upcoming 2nd International Symposium on MR-guided Focused Ultrasound. The deadline for abstract submissions is Monday, August 16. The symposium is scheduled for October 17-20 in Washington, D.C.
The Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation today issued a reminder that early bird registration discounts will end on Saturday, July 31 for the upcoming 2nd International Symposium on MR-guided Focused Ultrasound.
Eight leading manufacturers are among the initial sponsors of the 2nd International Symposium on MR-guided Focused Ultrasound, scheduled for October 17 through 20 near Washington, D.C.
Leading research and clinical experts will speak at the 2nd International Symposium for MR-guided Focused Ultrasound from October 17 to 20 near Washington, D.C. A landmark event, the symposium will spotlight preclinical, translational and clinical research related to one of today’s most promising and innovative therapeutic technologies.
Abstract submissions and registration have opened for the 2nd International Symposium on MR-guided Focused Ultrasound. Scheduled for October 17-20, 2010 in Washington, DC, the symposium is a premier event for scientists, clinicians and others interested in current and future applications of the emerging field of MR-guided focused ultrasound.
Lodewijk J.R. de Vink, an internationally-known leader in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, was elected to the Board of Directors of the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation at its January 26 meeting. He will serve a term of three years.
The Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation has disbursed nearly $1 million in research awards for work on non-invasive Magnetic Resonance-Guided Focused Ultrasound (FUS), a breakthrough medical technology, and is making more funding available in 2010.
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