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On June 14, 2011, GE Healthcare Korea and InSightec, Ltd. co-hosted a conference to recognize two important developments in the focused ultrasound community. First was the attainment of the 500-patient mark by the focused ultrasound team at CHA Bundang Medical Center in Seoul. Under the leadership of Sang-Wook Yoon, MD, the team has been treating uterine fibroid patients for five years. CHA’s one-year follow up data shows that 95% of patients have experienced improvement and that 18 have either become pregnant or given birth. The second development acknowledged at the event is the purchase of ExAblate brain and body systems by Yonsei University Medical Center. Jin Woo Chang, MD will use the new brain system to conduct the world’s first clinical trial in which patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) will receive MR-guided focused ultrasound therapy. Yonsei researchers are also planning clinical trials involving patients with metastatic bone tumors, low-risk and intermediate risk prostate cancers, essential tremor, and brain cancer.

FUSF Research Award recipient: Nathan McDannold, Harvard Medical School, USA Nathan McDannold, PhD, started working in focused ultrasound research as a physics graduate student in 1996. “I was looking for a medical physics project and sort of stumbled into the field,” he recalls.

The Foundation is pleased to welcome Arik Hananel, MD as its new Scientific and Medical Director. Hananel  was involved in the early stages of commercializing MR-guided focused ultrasound at device pioneer InSightec, Ltd. and has more than 12 years of research and development experience with the technology. The pivotal positions Hananel held at InSightec give him a unique vantage point for advancing the Foundation’s mission: he is familiar with the clinical research funded by the Foundation, understands how the technology is evolving and has long-standing relationships with the key stakeholders in the field. Arik Hananel, MD “We are excited about the leadership role that Dr. Hananel will play at the Foundation. His in-depth knowledge of many facets of MR-guided focused ultrasound will be invaluable in helping to facilitate the adoption of this game-changing technology,” says Foundation Chairman Neal F. Kassell, MD. Hananel’s primary responsibilities will be overseeing research activities, including pre-clinical studies and clinical trials, and representing the Foundation at meetings and symposia. Hananel is passionate about accelerating the adoption of MR-guided focused ultrasound. “It can change medicine in a way that will benefit almost every patient,” he observes. “I remember seeing the first uterine fibroid treatments, and thinking about the contrast of the long recovery processes involved in other, more invasive procedures. I would watch a woman get treated with MR-guided focused ultrasound. Thirty-minutes later, I would be sitting with her, talking and joking. It continues to amaze me, even today. “Once you see a patient receive the treatment, it changes your perspective completely. You need to see the person and not the procedure,” he says. This enthusiasm for patients is natural to Hananel. Though his career has been in the corporate world, he trained as a clinical MD and almost became a pediatrician. However, as he says, “fate intervened” when he accepted a position at InSightec. He is pleased that his new post at the Foundation will allow him to combine his medical degree with his two other degrees: a Bachelor’s of Computer Science and an Executive MBA. Aside from the great career fit, he considers the opportunity to be a personal “adventure.” Hananel, his wife, and three boys – ages 6, 11 and 14 – are relocating from their native Israel to Charlottesville, Virginia for the next chapter of their lives. Written by Ellen C., McKenna

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. Chen, who is an assistant professor in the Department Radiation Oncology at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, has received a $100,000 Research Award from the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation. He is exploring the feasibility of a new method that will detect the hypoxic areas in tumors and use MR-guided focused ultrasound to selectively ablate them prior to regular radiation therapy.