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Developing new treatments for brain disorders poses many challenges for focused ultrasound researchers. While the blood brain barrier is a key obstacle for those developing drug delivery therapies, the skull poses significant difficulties for researchers designing sound-based treatments. In a Foundation-sponsored project, Thilo Hoelscher, M.D., a neurologist and professor of Neuroscience and Radiology at the University of California, San Diego, is developing a database that will help clinicians individualize the intensity of sound waves for different types of skulls.

For the past decade, Richard J. Price, Ph.D., a biomedical engineer and associate professor at the University of Virginia, has conducted pioneering research in ultrasound targeted therapeutics. His international reputation and accomplishments make him an ideal fit for his new job as Research Director at the UVA’s Focused Ultrasound Center. While much of Price’s research has focused on nanoparticles and microbubbles, he is also a widely recognized authority on the mechanisms of cardiovascular blood vessel growth. Currently, he divides his time between both research interests.

When working in a field as expansive and exciting as Focused Ultrasound-mediated Targeted Drug Delivery, it’s sometimes easy to lose sight of all the other compelling areas of Image Guided Drug Delivery (IGDD) that are equally promising on the path to better cancer care.  The presentations at the “Hot Topics” Session on IGDD at on November 30th, 2010 at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Meeting were a small but solid glimpse into technologies that – along with FUS-TDD – hold great promise for improved efficacy and patient outcomes. 

During the recent Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Meeting, the “Hot Topics” Session on HIFU boasted well over 100 attendees despite the early Monday morning time-slot on November 29th, 2010.   Presenters covered MR-guided focused ultrasound for the treatment of breast cancer, pain palliation of bone metastasis, and uterine fibroids.   As the objective of the session was to provide an overview of the technology and clinical applications currently in practice or on the horizon, no new data was presented from the 2nd International Symposium on MR-guided Focused Ultrasound.  Yet for those unfamilar with the technology, the presentations provided a thorough introduction and overview – which we very much hope served as the beginning of attendees’ exposure and interest in the field.