Home Diseases and Conditions COVID (Coronavirus Disease of 2019)

COVID (Coronavirus Disease of 2019)

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Development Stage

Early Stage

Focused ultrasound research is in the laboratory phase and is not yet available for patients.

Clinical Trials

Focused ultrasound for this condition is being researched in clinical trials.

International Approval

Focused ultrasound is approved to treat this condition outside the US. Patients can seek commercial treatment at participating international sites.

FDA Approved

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved focus ultrasound for this condition. Patients can seek commercial treatment at participating sites.

Early Stage

Clinical Trials

International

FDA Approved

Focused ultrasound research for this condition is in the laboratory phase and is not yet available for patients.

Focused Ultrasound Therapy 

Focused ultrasound is a rapidly evolving, therapeutic technology that could transform the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with COVID. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the body without damaging surrounding normal tissue. 

How it Works 

Where the beams converge, low intensity focused ultrasound enhances the delivery of tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) to disrupt the misfolded Amyloid microclots that are associated with this disease. These clots can cause thrombotic disruption, impaired oxygenation, and chronic inflammation in preclinical models. This impact is being pursued in COVID, but it also may be relevant in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Diabetes and others. While significant work has been accomplished, there is still much to be done before this technology will be widely available. 

The primary options for treatment these microclots are limited to unenhanced delivery of these blood thinners.  

For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a non-invasive addition to the existing treatment.   

Advantages 

  • Focused ultrasound is non-invasive, so it does not carry added concerns like surgical wound healing or infection.  
  • Focused ultrasound can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue. 
  • It can be repeated, if necessary. 

Clinical Trials 

At the present time, there are no clinical trials recruiting patients for focused ultrasound treatment of COVID. 

The Foundation updates these pages regularly, but with the increasing number of clinical trials, we want to be sure that our audience has the latest information available. Therefore, we also added the website search information for the above trials. If you click here, it will take you to the latest information available from https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/.   

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement  

Focused ultrasound treatment for COVID is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies. 

Notable Papers 

Rasouli R, Hartl B, Konecky SD. Low-intensity ultrasound lysis of amyloid microclots in a lab-on-chip model. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2025 Jun 30;13:1604447. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1604447. eCollection 2025. PMID: 40661336 

Click here for additional references from PubMed.