Key Points
- Last month, researchers and clinicians gathered in Toronto for the second Focused Ultrasound in Psychiatry Symposium.
- Attendees discussed the use of focused ultrasound neuromodulation for treating addiction, depression, anxiety, trauma-related disorders, and more.
The second Focused Ultrasound in Psychiatry Symposium (FUS PULSE) was held June 24–26, 2026. With the goal of advancing focused ultrasound for the treatment of psychiatric illnesses, the 2026 meeting allowed attendees to share new advances, strengthen the growing network of colleagues working in this area, and build on the success of the inaugural FUS PULSE symposium, which was held in 2024.
This year, approximately 80 researchers, clinicians, physicists, engineers, and representatives from industry, government, and the Focused Ultrasound Foundation gathered at Vantage Venues in downtown Toronto. FUS PULSE was sponsored by the Harquail Centre for Neuromodulation, Sunnybrook Research Institute, and the Focused Ultrasound Foundation. The meeting program and discussion topics were developed by the steering committee, which included G. Rees Cosgrove, MD, Renana Eitan, MD, Clement Hamani, MD, PhD, Suzanne LeBlang, MD, Noah Philip, MD, Ali Rezai, MD, and co-chairs Nir Lipsman, MD, PhD, and Benjamin Davidson, MD.
“Tackling an issue as large, complex, and urgent as mental illness will take more than one center, one discipline, or one idea. It will require a community willing to collaborate across boundaries, challenge assumptions, and build the next generation of brain circuit therapeutics together,” said Dr. Lipsman. “The energy and enthusiasm at Pulse 2.0 was palpable and made one thing clear: Focused ultrasound for psychiatry is no longer a distant possibility, but an emerging field with the potential to reshape how we think about brain circuit therapeutics.”
The meeting was divided into five sessions, each with several talks followed by a moderated panel discussion:
- 1: Psychiatry & Focused Ultrasound Update – What’s Happened in the Last 2 Years?
- 2: Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation Mechanisms
- 3: Focused Ultrasound Clinical Results & Safety
- 4: Other Uses of Focused Ultrasound
- 5: Bringing the Field Together – Harmonizing Protocols, Targeting, Devices, Trial Designs
Together with the presentations, attendees discussed emerging applications, early clinical results, and safety considerations when using focused ultrasound neuromodulation to treat psychiatric illnesses and Alzheimer’s disease. Other topics included personalized, circuit-based interventions, the mechanisms behind focused ultrasound neuromodulation, expanding the therapeutic envelope, and potentially complementary mechanisms of focused ultrasound, such as drug delivery or glymphatic modulation.
“I had the opportunity to present one of the directions I am most passionate about: the potential of focused ultrasound to prevent post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD,” said Dr. Eitan, who is a leader in advancing procedures for psychiatric diseases. “While most current treatments begin only after PTSD has become established, I believe we have an opportunity to intervene much earlier, during the critical period following trauma, using precision neuromodulation to alter the trajectory of the disorder before it becomes chronic. If successful, this approach could fundamentally change how we think about trauma care and psychiatric intervention.”
“The use of focused ultrasound to treat psychiatric disorders has been the most rapidly emerging area of clinical research since the Foundation was created,” said Suzanne LeBlang, MD, the Foundation’s director of clinical relationships. “There is a commitment across the medical community to urgently add another tool to the toolbox for patients living with a variety of psychiatric conditions. The worldwide interest in this topic was evidenced by the fact that we received multiple requests to attend this invitation-only meeting. The steering committee is already discussing the need to expand the space and the program in order to accommodate a larger group.”
The presentations and discussion highlights from the workshop, along with future goals and the roadmap forward, will be summarized in a white paper.
As a focused ultrasound Center of Excellence, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre fulfills the requirements by performing technical, preclinical, and clinical research as well as offering numerous commercial treatments.
Next meeting: Planning has begun for FUS PULSE 2028. To learn more, contact Dr. LeBlang.
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Focused Ultrasound for Psychiatric Disorders: Workshop White Paper Now Available September 2024