Home Diseases and Conditions Kidney Disease

Kidney Disease

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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 noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with kidney disease. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets in the kidney.

How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound is being used to improve the homing and implantation of mesenchymal stem cells in the diseased kidney. Preclinical results show improved renal cell survival compared to controls. While early work is promising, there is still much to be done before this technology will be widely available.

Advantages
The primary options for treatment of kidney disease include medication, dialysis and potentially invasive surgery.

For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a noninvasive alternative to surgery with less risk of complications – such as surgical wound healing or infection – at a lower cost. It can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue and is repeatable, if necessary.

Clinical Trials

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

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/.

See a list of laboratory research sites >

Find a Treatment Site

Search for a treatment center or clinical trial near you.

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement

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

Notable Papers

Guo Y, Wang Y, Wang B, Peng S, Li N, Zhang D, Wu H. Ultrasound-responsive renal-targeted nanoparticles deliver TAK-242 to inhibit NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling and attenuate sepsis-associated acute kidney injury. Biomaterials. 2026 Jun;329:123922. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2025.123922. Epub 2025 Dec 14. PMID: 41481962 

Kisting AL, Zlevor AM, Falk KL, Kisting MA, Laklouk IA, Wagner MG, White JK, Winterholler JE, Jentink M, Abel EJ, Knavel Koepsel EM, Hinshaw JL, Swietlik JF, Mao L, Minesinger GM, Laeseke PF, Ziemlewicz TJ, Lee FT Jr. Histotripsy of the Proximal Ureter and Renal Pelvis: Evaluation of Urothelial Injury in a Porcine Survival Model. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2024 Dec 9:S1051-0443(24)00752-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jvir.2024.11.028. PMID: 39662616 

Couillard AB, Zlevor AM, Ziemlewicz TJ, Kisting MA, Knott E, Rossebo AE, White J, Lubner MG, Gettle LM, Hinshaw JL, Mao L, Stoffregen W, Swietlik JF, Knavel-Koepsel E, Stratchko L, Abel EJ, Xu Z, Lee FT Jr, Laeseke PF. A Comparison of Histotripsy and Percutaneous Cryoablation in a Chronic Healthy Swine Kidney Model. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2023 Nov;34(11):1986-1996. doi: 10.1016/j.jvir.2023.07.014. Epub 2023 Jul 20. PMID: 37481064 

Camafort M, Ihm SH, Ruilope LM. Renal denervation for the treatment of hypertension and kidney disease. Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens. 2023 Nov 1;32(6):544-550. doi: 10.1097/MNH.0000000000000928. Epub 2023 Sep 13. PMID: 37706512 

Click here for additional references from PubMed.