Focused ultrasound in neuro-oncology: the role of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation in driving adoption and innovation.

The Focused Ultrasound Foundation was created to improve the lives of millions of people worldwide by accelerating the development of this noninvasive technology. The Foundation works to clear the path to global adoption by organizing and funding research, fostering collaboration, and building awareness among patients and professionals. Since its establishment in 2006, the Foundation has become the largest nongovernmental source of funding for focused ultrasound research.

In vivo histotripsy brain treatment.

Objective: Histotripsy is an ultrasound-based treatment modality relying on the generation of targeted cavitation bubble clouds, which mechanically fractionate tissue. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the in vivo feasibility, including dosage requirements and safety, of generating well-confined destructive lesions within the porcine brain utilizing histotripsy technology.

Methods: Following a craniectomy to open an acoustic window to the brain, histotripsy pulses were delivered to generate lesions in the porcine cortex.

Applications of Focused Ultrasound in Cerebrovascular Diseases and Brain Tumors.

Oncology and cerebrovascular disease constitute two of the most common diseases afflicting the central nervous system. Standard of treatment of these pathologies is based on multidisciplinary approaches encompassing combination of interventional procedures such as open and endovascular surgeries, drugs (chemotherapies, anti-coagulants, anti-platelet therapies, thrombolytics), and radiation therapies. In this context, therapeutic ultrasound could represent a novel diagnostic/therapeutic in the armamentarium of the surgeon to treat these diseases.