Matt Eames, PhD, senior project engineer for the Focused Ultrasound Foundation’s Brain Program, filed this report from Heidelberg, Germany where he is attending the annual conference of the International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound (ISTU):
Sonothrombolysis was a featured topic at the Sunday, June 10 session. Clot lysis research funded by the Focused Ultrasound Foundation was presented by Stephen Monteith, MD of the University of Virginia. Monteith, who uses the InSightec ExAblate system, described his success lysing blood clots in an in-vitro experimental setup and how this led to a pre-clinical trial involving the treatment of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in pigs. Dr. Monteith went on to present preliminary results from the lysis of ICH blood clots in a human cadaveric model.
Also of note was a persuasive argument from Dr. Bill Culp of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to move towards clinical trials for ischemic stroke. There was also a presentation from Cerevast on their upcoming Phase III clinical trial for a battery-powered, unfocused ultrasonic head transducer to enhance tPA delivery and/or provide more expedient, ambulance-based treatment to stroke patients. More information on this study may be found on ClinicalTrials.gov.