A Window to the Brain: Sonolucent Prosthesis for Transcranial Ultrasound

Published:

Key Points

  • A collaborative research team developed a novel and potentially revolutionary device for treating patients with brain tumors.
  • The artificial acoustic window is made from a plastic material that is designed specifically to transmit ultrasound energy.
  • The device, which has now been implanted and tested in the first patient, could be used for new ultrasound-guided therapeutic applications, including focused ultrasound.

JNO logoCranial Sonolucent Prosthesis: A Window of Opportunity for Neuro-Oncology (and Neuro-Surgery)

A collaborative research team led by a Francesco Prada, MD, former Foundation research fellow and Director of the Acoustic Neuroimaging and Therapy Lab, and Francesco DiMeco, MD, Director of the Department of Neurosurgery both at the Istituto Neurologico C. Besta in Milan, Italy, has developed, fabricated, and tested a novel and potentially revolutionary device for treating patients with brain tumors. Their artificial acoustic window is made from a plastic material that is designed specifically for transmitting ultrasound energy. It was recently tested in the first human clinical trial and can be custom designed for each individual patient, easily fabricated, and then surgically implanted in the skull (under the scalp) with minimal safety and feasibility concerns. After implantation, the window is invisible from the outside but provides an ultrasound transparent window embedded in the skull that allows high-quality ultrasound imaging and long-term follow-up in an outpatient setting. If long-term studies are successful, the device could provide new options for ultrasound-guided therapeutic applications, including focused ultrasound, without the safety concerns associated with skull heating.

If you would like to learn more about this approach, please contact Francesco Prada, MD.

See the Journal of Neuro-Oncology >