July 8, 2021 - Pancreatic Cancer Clinical Trial Opens in UK – and more news…

July 8, 2021 IN THIS ISSUE Top News | Foundation News | Patient News | Research News Industry News | Webinars | Events     New Clinical Trial of Focused Ultrasound–Enhanced Chemotherapy for Pancreatic Cancer The University of Oxford has begun a Phase I study investigating heat-activated chemotherapy triggered by focused ultrasound in patients with pancreatic cancer. The PanDox study uses Celsion Corporation’s ThermoDox® – a proprietary heat-activated liposomal encapsulation of the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin. Researchers will compare ThermoDox plus focused ultrasound to enhance delivery of the drug in unresectable pancreatic tumors versus systemic delivery of free doxorubicin. READ MORE >    First-in-Human Trial of Focused Ultrasound for Pediatric Brain Cancer Now Recruiting Patients Researchers at Columbia University are seeking patients for a clinical trial using focused ultrasound to facilitate the delivery of chemotherapy to progressive diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPGs). DIPGs are a malignant type of brain tumor that affect children around the age of five. The study uses a novel neuro-navigational device designed and tested at Columbia. READ MORE >  Foundation News Watch Now: Two Webinars on Emerging Topics in Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy: Leaders from the Foundation, Cancer Research Institute, and Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy discussed cancer immunotherapy and focused ultrasound’s potential role. WATCH NOW > Varicose Veins: The Foundation’s FUS Partners Program and Theraclion hosted a webinar on focused ultrasound for the treatment of varicose veins. WATCH NOW > Carolyn Yeh Joins Foundation’s Council Carolyn Yeh is a tremendous champion of focused ultrasound in Hong Kong. The Council provides strategic advice, assists with raising funds, and builds awareness. READ MORE >  Donor Profile: Katie and Todd Boehly A family health condition led the Boehlys to learn of the Foundation and the promise of focused ultrasound. They decided to get involved to help make focused ultrasound available to countless patients. READ THE PROFILE >  Patient News Prostate Cancer Patient Advocates for Focused Ultrasound Tim McConnell received focused ultrasound therapy for his prostate cancer in August 2020. He shares the importance of being your own advocate for your health.   READ THE ARTICLE >  More Patient News Dad on Road to Recovery after Ultrasound Therapy for Prostate Cancer | WZZM13 New Surgery at Miami Valley Helps Reduce Hand Tremors | Dayton Daily News Neurological Surgery Chair Envisions Building on UTSW’s Clinical, Research Strengths to Advance Treatment | University of Texas Southwestern UCF Lake Nona Medical Center is the First Hospital in Central Florida to Offer Incisionless Brain Surgery as Advanced Treatment for Essential Tremor | Cision PR Newswire Research News Investigator Profile: Mikhail Shapiro, PhD, at Caltech Dr. Shapiro’s work combines the physical interactions of ultrasound with synthetic biology – the field of science that redesigns organisms for useful purposes. At Caltech, he leads a 28-person research laboratory dedicated to ultrasound imaging and focused ultrasound.   READ THE PROFILE > Optimizing Focused Ultrasound Capsulotomy for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) An international group of neuroscientists investigated the relationship between lesion location and long-term outcome in OCD patients treated with focused ultrasound capsulotomy. Lesioning an area in the dorsal anterior limb of the internal capsule produced successful, long-term symptom relief. READ MORE >  Simultaneous Measurement of Temperature and Tissue Mechanical Properties during Focused Ultrasound A new ultrasound pulse sequence can simultaneously evaluate the contributions of thermal and mechanical effects on tissue caused by focused ultrasound. The sequence uses both thermal strain imaging and harmonic motion imaging. Several focused ultrasound applications may find this technology useful. READ MORE >  Veterinary Applications of Focused Ultrasound for Solid Tissue Tumors and their Metastases Veterinary researchers at Virginia Tech have written a comprehensive review of using focused ultrasound to treat solid tumor cancers and their metastases. Treatment techniques discussed include thermal ablation, histotripsy, and the immune effects of focused ultrasound.   The group describes basic principles and suggests future clinical applications in veterinary oncology. READ MORE > Florida Government Invests in Focused Ultrasound Alzheimer’s Research Florida governor Ron DeSantis announced a $12 million funding increase in the state budget for Alzheimer's disease projects, $4.5 million of which is dedicated to focused ultrasound research. The state will advance research, provide enhanced care and support, and improve and expand diagnostic services. READ MORE >  Visit our free, online research library of focused ultrasound publications.   More Research News Scientists Are Harnessing Sound Waves in Hopes of Treating Alzheimer’s | Leaps UVA Health Treats First Patient in Focused Ultrasound Trial for Brain Tumors | NBC 29 Charlottesville, VA [video] Trial Testing Treating Glioblastoma Tumors with Focused Ultrasound | CBS19 Charlottesville, VA Fralin Biomedical Research Institute to Conduct Focused Ultrasound Research | WDBJ7 Roanoke, VA [video] Possible Game Changer in the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety | WJAR10 Providence, RI [video] Transdisciplinary Collaborations Essential to Tackling Cancer | Virginia Tech My Lab Uses Ultrasound to Stimulate Unconscious Patients | Nautilus Industry News SonaCare Medical Announces $70 Million Investment and Sales Distribution Agreement in Merger  As part of the investment, SonaCare Medical has merged into a new company called Sonablate Corp. The company's Sonablate device received FDA clearance in October 2015 for the ablation of prostate tissue, and more than 70 US physicians now offer the treatment. READ THE PRESS RELEASE >  More Industry News Theraclion Strengthens Its Board of Directors | BusinessWire Webinars Focused Ultrasound in the Brain: Clinical Applications and Technical Challenges in Japan Thursday, July 22, 2021, at 11:00 am Eastern Presented by Toshio Yamaguchi, MD, of Shin-Yurigaoka General Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan Hosted by the International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound LEARN MORE AND REGISTER > Advances in the Immunotherapy for Gliomas Wednesday, July 28, 2021, at 10:00 am Eastern Presented by Peter Fecci, MD, PhD, and Michael Platten, MD Hosted by the European Association of Neuro-Oncology LEARN MORE AND REGISTER > Recent Webinar Recordings Focused Ultrasound and Cancer Immunotherapy Fireside Chat | Jessica Foley, PhD, Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, PhD, and Theresa LaVallee, PhD | Hosted by the Focused Ultrasound Foundation (1 hour) Noninvasive HIFU Treatment of Varicose Veins: European Experience and US Market Perspective | Dr. Steve Elias, Professor Mark Whiteley, Dr. Rubén Rodríguez Carvajal, Mr. David Caumartin, Dr. Michel Nuta | Hosted by the Focused Ultrasound Foundation and Theraclion (59 minutes) Focused Ultrasound in Gynecology | Young-sun Kim, MD | Hosted by the International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound (1 hour 2 minutes) Do you have news for our newsletter? Tell us about it!   Upcoming Events July 21, 2021 Laser Hyperthermia for CNS Disorders | WEBINAR ​​​​​ July 22, 2021 Focused Ultrasound in the Brain: Clinical Applications and Technical Challenges in Japan | WEBINAR ​​​​​ July 25-29, 2021 American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Annual Meeting  | VIRTUAL MEETING ​​​​​ July 28, 2021 Advances in the Immunotherapy for Gliomas | WEBINAR ​​​​​ September 7-10, 2021 iTRUSST's 2nd Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation (FUN) Symposium | VIRTUAL MEETING ​​​​​ September 11-16, 2021 IEEE IUS International Ultrasonics Symposium 2021 | VIRTUAL MEETING ​​​​​ September 25-26, 2021 European Association of Neuro-Oncology (EANO) Annual Meeting 2021| VIRTUAL MEETING ​​​​ September 25-28, 2021 Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE) 2021| VIRTUAL MEETING ​​​​ September 27-30, 2021 AdvaMed The Digital MedTech Conference 2021| Washington, DC, Minneapolis, MN, and VIRTUAL  October 4-5, 2021 IEEE Latin America Ultrasonics Symposium | VIRTUAL MEETING ​​​​| Abstract submission deadline is July 9. October 15-16, 2021 2021 AANS/CNS Tumor Section Satellite Symposium, Austin, TX November 18-21, 2021 26th Annual Meeting and Education Day of the Society for Neuro-Oncology, Boston, MA