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Pain, Chronic

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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 for this condition is being researched in clinical trials.

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 chronic pain. 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, focused ultrasound produces several therapeutic effects that are being evaluated. Some clinical trials involve the use of high intensity focused ultrasound to ablate nerves that are responsible for chronic pain, and other sites are using a neuromodulatory approach to impact the target. There is also a combination of other co-morbidities that are related to the impact of pain, such as alcohol or substance abuse that can also have an impact on the disease. Please also see “Pain, Neuropathic” for additional discussions that may also be relevant. 

The primary options for treatment of highly variable and can include potentially addictive medication and possible surgery.  

For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide an effective and non-invasive alternative to current therapy with less risk of complications and lower cost.  

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 

This clinical trial at Virginia Tech is using low intensity focused ultrasound on normal patients to see their impact to painful stimuli.  

A second clinical trial at Virginia Tech is using low intensity focused ultrasound on normal adults to see the impact on painful stimuli. This project is recruiting patients with an invitation only format.  

A clinical trial at Virginia Tech is using low intensity focused ultrasound to treat patients who have complex regional pain syndromes or fibromyalgia.  

A clinical trial at Virginia Tech is treating complex patients who have chronic pain, anxiety and craving.  

A clinical trial at Virginia Tech is treating patients who have chronic pain and alcohol abuse.  

This clinical trial at Virginia Tech is treating patients with a chronic pain diagnosis with low intensity focused ultrasound. This project is recruiting patients with an invitational only format.   

A clinical trial at the University of Utah is treating patients with focused ultrasound who have chronic neurological pain.  

A clinical trial in Washington, DC is treating complex patients who have chronic back pain, opioid use disorder and anxiety.  

A clinical trial in Massachusetts is treating chronic pain patients who have carpal tunnel syndrome.   

A clinical trial in Taiwan is treating patients with chronic facet arthritis and back pain.  

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 chronic pain is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies. 

Notable Papers 

Lin YT, Chen KT, Hsu CC, Liu HL, Jiang YT, Ho CW, Chen JC, Li HY, Weng CC, Hsu PH. Stimulation of dorsal root ganglion with low-intensity focused ultrasound ameliorates pain responses through the GABA inhibitory pathway. Life Sci. 2025 Jan 15;361:123323. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2024.123323. Epub 2024 Dec 19. PMID: 39709165 

Trujillo FA, Thomas HA, Berwal D, Rajulapati N, DiMarzio M, Pilitsis JG. Hip and waist circumference correlations with demographic factors and pain intensity in patients with chronic pain. Trujillo FA, Thomas HA, Berwal D, Rajulapati N, DiMarzio M, Pilitsis JG.Pain Manag. 2024;14(8):421-429. doi: 10.1080/17581869.2024.2403961. Epub 2024 Oct 3. PMID: 39363634 

Colasurdo M, Ahmed AK, Gandhi D. MR-guided Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy for Chronic Pain. Magn Reson Imaging Clin N Am. 2024 Nov;32(4):661-672. doi: 10.1016/j.mric.2024.04.005. Epub 2024 Jul 25. PMID: 39322355  

Click here for additional references from PubMed.