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 intracerebral hemorrhage. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the brain without damaging surrounding normal tissue.
How it Works
The mechanisms of action are that where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces several therapeutic effects that are being evaluated. One mechanism is the disruption of blood clots, which allows reperfusion of ischemic tissue. Another mechanism is the temporarily opening the blood-brain barrier which enables entry of stem cells into the area of the stroke that can repopulate the area. All are still in the early stage and more work is needed before this research can reach the clinic. Please note that there is another major cause of stroke, listed separately under “Stroke, thromboembolic.”
Advantages
The primary options for treatment of intracerebral hemorrhage include medications with the possible inclusion of 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
There is a clinical trial in Taiwan using focused ultrasound to help patients recover after a stroke.
There is a clinical trial in China using neuromodulation to help deliver brain derived neurotrophic factor to patients after hemorrhagic stroke.
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 intracerebral hemorrhage is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.
Notable Papers
Huang Z, Charalambous CC, Chen M, Kim T, Sokhadze E, Song A, Jung SH, Shekhar S, Feld JA, Jiang X, Feng W. Low intensity focused ultrasound stimulation in stroke: A phase I safety & feasibility trial. Brain Stimul. 2025 Jan 20;18(1):179-187. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2025.01.015. PMID: 39842609
Lin BZ, Fan AC, Wang Y, Lowerison MR, Dong Z, You Q, Sekaran NVC, Llano D, Borden M, Song P. Combined Nanodrops Imaging and Ultrasound Localization Microscopy for Detecting Intracerebral Hemorrhage. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2025 Jan 20:S0301-5629(25)00002-X. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2025.01.002. PMID: 39837748
Qi L, Wang C, Deng L, Pan JJ, Suo Q, Wu S, Cai L, Shi X, Sun J, Wang Y, Tang Y, Qiu W, Yang GY, Wang J, Zhang Z. Low-intensity focused ultrasound stimulation promotes stroke recovery via astrocytic HMGB1 and CAMK2N1 in mice. Stroke Vasc Neurol. 2024 Nov 5;9(5):505-518. doi: 10.1136/svn-2023-002614. PMID: 38191183
Savelon ECJ, Jordan HT, Stinear CM, Byblow WD. Noninvasive brain stimulation to improve motor outcomes after stroke. Curr Opin Neurol. 2024 Sep 3. doi: 10.1097/WCO.0000000000001313. PMID: 39221935
Li KP, Wu JJ, Zhou ZL, Xu DS, Zheng MX, Hua XY, Xu JG. Noninvasive Brain Stimulation for Neurorehabilitation in Post-Stroke Patients. Brain Sci. 2023 Mar 6;13(3):451. doi: 10.3390/brainsci13030451.
Wang T, Lei H, Li X, Yang N, Ma C, Li G, Gao X, Ge J, Liu Z, Cheng L, Chen G. Magnetic Targeting Nanocarriers Combined with Focusing Ultrasound for Enhanced Intracerebral Hemorrhage Therapy. Small. 2023 Apr;19(17):e2206982. doi: 10.1002/smll.202206982. Epub 2023 Jan 26.
Shen QR, Hu MT, Feng W, Li KP, Wang W. Narrative Review of Noninvasive Brain Stimulation in Stroke Rehabilitation. Med Sci Monit. 2022 Dec 2;28:e938298. doi: 10.12659/MSM.938298.
Raghuram H, Looi T, Pichardo S, Waspe AC, Drake JM. A robotic MR-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound platform for intraventricular hemorrhage: assessment of clot lysis efficacy in a brain phantom. J Neurosurg Pediatr. 2022 Dec 1;30(6):586-594. doi: 10.3171/2022.8.PEDS22144.
Click here for additional references from PubMed.