March 25, 2022 - Top Innovator Named Chief Technology Officer - and more news

March 25, 2022 IN THIS ISSUE Top News | Foundation News | Symposium News | Research News Industry News | Webinars | Events     One of the World’s Top Innovators Joins Focused Ultrasound Foundation as Chief Technology Officer Rick Hamilton, an authority on technology and innovation, is now the Foundation’s Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer. He is one of the world’s most prolific inventors with more than 1,040 patents. He was formerly an Executive IT Architect at IBM and Vice President and Senior Distinguished Engineer at Optum. READ MORE > Foundation News Foundation and MITA Host Virtual Focused Ultrasound Fly-In for US Legislators The Foundation and the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) hosted a virtual Congressional fly-in event to educate policymakers about focused ultrasound.   Patients, physicians, and industry leaders participated in 11 meetings with representatives from nine states.   This is the third fly-in event to date; the first two were held in-person in 2019 and 2020. READ MORE > Glioblastoma Workshop Outcomes Published in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology The Journal of Neuro-Oncology (JNO) has published an article that provides key updates from the Foundation’s 2021 glioblastoma (GBM) workshop. Three focused ultrasound devices are being used in 13 GBM clinical trials at 20 centers around the world. The JNO publishes basic, applied, and clinical investigations related to cancer and the central nervous system.   READ MORE > Now Accepting Applications for 2022 Summer Global Internships The Foundation’s Global Internship Program allows students who are interested in focused ultrasound to conduct research with mentors in the field. Applications for this three-month summer research experience will be accepted through midnight Eastern on April 24. READ MORE > More Foundation News Thomas O. Ryder Joins Focused Ultrasound Foundation Board | Virginia Business Symposium News Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha to Deliver Keynote at Symposium 2022 Geoff Martha, Chairman and CEO of Medtronic, will discuss the impact of technology on patient outcomes. Last year, the Healthcare Technology Report listed him as the #1 CEO in healthcare tech. Before Medtronic, Martha worked at GE Healthcare, where he was introduced to focused ultrasound. READ MORE >  Abstract Submission Open for Symposium 2022 We welcome abstracts related to the use of image-guided focused ultrasound, and a detailed list of topics of interest is available on the website. The deadline for abstract submission is May 16. The 8th International Symposium on Focused Ultrasound will be held October 23-28 in Bethesda, Maryland. SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT >  Interested in receiving the latest Symposium news? Subscribe now! Research News Pediatric Brain Tumor Workshop White Paper Now Available In October, the Foundation hosted a workshop to explore the use of focused ultrasound to treat DIPG, a fatal pediatric brain tumor. The presentations and discussions have now been summarized in a white paper. Workshop videos are also available on YouTube. READ MORE >  Pediatric Oncology Center Launches Focused Ultrasound Brain Program in the Netherlands The Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology in Utrecht will offer a new clinical trial using focused ultrasound to open the blood-brain barrier in children with brain tumors. Hersenstichting Brain Foundation provided €2.5 million to purchase equipment and launch the trial, which will be led by Dannis van Vuurden, MD, PhD, a pediatric neuro-oncologist. Research at the Princess Máxima Center is carried out in close collaboration with UMC Utrecht.  READ THE PRESS RELEASE >  Focused Ultrasound for Psychiatric Disorders: Clinical Trial Begins A new clinical trial will explore focused ultrasound neuromodulation to improve the symptoms of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and PTSD in adults. The research team is led by Gregory Fonzo, PhD, at the University of Texas at Austin. READ MORE >  More Research News Crossing the Barrier | Radiology Today Industry News Insightec Receives FDA Approval to Begin Two New Brain Clinical Trials Insightec has received approval from the US FDA to launch two clinical trials using its Exablate Neuro system. One trial will use focused ultrasound in conjunction with standard-of-care drug Keytruda® to treat brain metastases from primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The second trial will examine liquid biopsy for recurrence monitoring of patients with primary brain cancer. The FDA granted "Breakthrough Device" designation for the NSCLC treatment, helping to expedite its development and review. READ THE PRESS RELEASE > Cardiawave Announces Successful Clinical Trial Results for Aortic Stenosis Thirty patients with aortic stenosis were treated in a clinical trial using Cardiawave’s Valvosoft® device and experienced sustained repair to the aortic valve for up to one year. The trial is taking place in France and the Netherlands, and a second study is underway in Serbia. The company launched a Series B financing round to fund additional clinical trials in Europe and the US. READ THE PRESS RELEASE > More Industry News Zeta Surgical Raises $5.2M in Seed Financing to Enhance Surgical Navigation with Robotics and Mixed Reality | Yahoo! Insightec to Launch New Trials of Exablate Neuro | LabPulse Profound Medical Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Financial Results | Globe Newswire Profound Medical to Participate in March Investor Conferences | Globe Newswire Webinars Sonalleve, an Incision-Free Alternative for the Therapy of Adenomyosis and Uterine Fibroids Wednesday, March 30, at 5:00 am Eastern Featuring Dr. Simon Hubertus, Dr. Kang Zhou, and Dr. Mathieu Lieberatore Hosted by Profound Medical LEARN MORE AND REGISTER > Virtual Liquid Biopsy Summit Thursday, March 31, at 2:00 pm Eastern Hosted by Blood Profiling Atlas in Cancer (BloodPAC) Learn about the state of the science for liquid biopsy and the organization's five-year strategic plan. LEARN MORE AND REGISTER > Recent Webinars & Podcasts The Truth About Your Future with Ric Edelman | Featuring Foundation Chairman Neal F. Kassell, MD | Focused ultrasound content starts at 27:25 (51 minutes) Hit Like a Girl Podcast | Featuring Dr. Natasha Sheybani, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia and a senior scientist with the Focused Ultrasound Foundation. (30 minutes) Do you have news for our newsletter? Tell us about it!   Upcoming Events March 30, 2022 Sonalleve, an Incision-Free Alternative for the Therapy of Adenomyosis and Uterine Fibroids | WEBINAR March 31, 2022 BloodPAC's Liquid Biopsy Virtual Summit | VIRTUAL EVENT  April 28, 2022 Virginia Bio THRiVE, Roanoke, VA May 1-4, 2022 Society for Thermal Medicine (STM) 2022 Virtual Annual Meeting | VIRTUAL EVENT  June 7-10, 2022 21st Annual International Symposium on Therapeutic Ultrasound (ISTU), Toronto, Canada and VIRTUAL June 19-23, 2022 15th International Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society (ISRS) Congress, Milan, Italy July 10-14, 2022 American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC October 23-28, 2022 8th International Symposium on Focused Ultrasound, Bethesda, MD December 8-11, 2022 International Symposium on Biomolecular Ultrasound and Sonogenetics (ISBUS), Pasadena, CA