Key Points
- Six recent conferences featured focused ultrasound presentations.
- Use the links below to access meeting programs and abstract information.
The Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2025
The Royal Society’s Summer Science Exhibition 2025 was held July 1–6 in London, UK. This annual free event allows visitors of all ages to discover the latest research and innovation from across the UK through interactive exhibits, hands-on activities, and talks. This year’s offering featured 14 main exhibits, one of which was all about focused ultrasound technology. Focused Energy: Extraordinary Ultrasound! invited guests to “discover the power of sound you cannot hear” by learning how focused ultrasound can deliver precise, noninvasive therapies for brain surgery, enhanced healing, and drug delivery. The July 2 talk, Brain Surgery Without Scalpels, was recorded for online attendees.
Professor Wladyslaw Gedroyc, FRCR, MBBS, MRCP, a consultant radiologist and focused ultrasound expert at Imperial College London NHS Trust, helped with the event and was pleased to report his interaction with the UK’s Minister of Science, Lord Vallance, KCB, FRS, FMedSci, FRCP, HonFREng. “The team delegated me to talk with Lord Vallance at the Royal Society bash while he was visiting each stand in turn. I had the opportunity to describe focused ultrasound blood-brain barrier opening techniques and how they could be used to improve brain tumour treatment. He rapidly grasped the potential and principal and was quite interested.”
The focused ultrasound exhibits at The Royal Society event were curated by the Future Ultrasonic Engineering Centre for Doctoral Training (FUSE CDT). FUSE is a partnership between the Centre for Medical and Industrial Ultrasonics at the University of Glasgow and the Centre for Ultrasonic Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. This partnership touts itself as the largest academic ultrasonic engineering unit in the world.
As an independent scientific academy of the United Kingdom, The Royal Society is dedicated to promoting excellence in science for the benefit of humanity. This fellowship of many of the world’s most eminent scientists is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.
Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation (FUN) Conference 2025
The 6th FUN conference was held at Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s (HKPU’s) Department of Biomedical Engineering from July 9–11, 2025. This marks the first FUN conference that has been held in Asia, following the Toronto 2024 event. Beyond HKPU, FUN 2025 was also co-organized by the Research Institute for Smart Ageing, Zhuhai Society for Neuroscience, and ITRUSST, the International Transcranial Ultrasonic Stimulation Safety and Standards Consortium. A hybrid format allowed close to 200 attendees to attend in-person or remote via live Zoom.
The program began with a welcome message from the organizing chair, Prof. Lei Sun. The 2.5-day meeting then featured 8 plenary talks, 16 invited talks, and 18 short talks covering a wide range of topics, including ultrasonic cell engineering, cortical circuit stimulation, pain treatment, decision-making and learning, and Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. An education session with five lectures was included on the afternoon of the last day. The conference featured about 80 poster presentations, and Best Poster awards were given to encourage young researchers.
The exhibit area featured approximately 20 booths and 15 sponsors, including the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute, Focused Ultrasound Foundation, BrainBox, Sonic Concepts, Openwater, NaviFUS, and many others.
FUN 2026 will be held in Paris, France, from July 22–24.
The Foundation thanks Dong-Guk Paeng, PhD, for submitting this meeting report.
2nd Taipei Medical University (TMU) MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound Symposium
TMU held its 2nd MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) symposium July 26, 2025, on the 11th floor of the W Hotel Taipei. The afternoon event included two keynote speeches and four talks. The keynotes were delivered by Fred Wu, PhD, from Virginia Tech (MRgFUS for BBB Opening), and Jin-Woo Chang, MD, PhD, from Yonsei University Hospital (MRgFUS for Psychiatric Disorders). In the first session, a neurologist and neurosurgeon each shared their experiences with MRgFUS. The second session presentations covered the treatment of bone metastases and lumbar spondylotic pain.
See the Meeting Website and Program
American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) 2025 Annual Meeting
With the theme of “Coming Together to Forge Ahead in Medical Physics,” AAPM’s annual meeting was held July 27–30, 2025, in Washington, DC.
Focused ultrasound took center stage in an invited program titled “Recent Advances in Ultrasound Therapy—Mechanical and Thermal Mechanisms.” This session was designed to explore innovation at the intersection of ultrasound imaging technologies and nanoparticle-based therapies. The oral presentation topics highlighted ultrasound techniques in minimally invasive medical treatments. Each of the seven presentations from this session is listed below and marked with an asterisk (*).
Histotripsy was the topic of an invited program titled “Histotripsy Physics, Image Guidance, and Clinical Perspectives.” This special session on diagnostic and interventional radiology physics included three presentations. Each presentation from this session is listed below and marked with an obelisk (†).
One of the presenters, Hasan Raza Syed, MD, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Children’s National Hospital, shared that about 25 clinicians and medical physicists participated in the ultrasound specialty program. “Attendees responded positively to the clinical work at Children’s National, with several asking about the number of patients treated with sonodynamic therapy compared to those undergoing blood-brain barrier disruption with chemotherapy,” said Dr. Syed. “It was a valuable opportunity to highlight our research and discuss the factors that guide families in selecting the most appropriate clinical trial for their child.”
Abstracts
- †SU-235-207A-1 Bubble Dynamics during Mechanical Ablation with Histotripsy by Kenneth B. Bader from the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
- †SU-235-207A-2 Histotripsy: Key Preclinical Translational Findings and Early Clinical Experience by Paul F. Laeseke, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI
- †SU-235-207A-3 Imaging Strategies for Precise Histotripsy Treatment by Martin G. Wagner from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI
- SU-330-GPD-D-81 Impact of Feraheme on Imaging and Thermal Dynamics during MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound: Phantom Study by Myung-Ho In, Chunming Gu, PhD, Zaiyang Long, PhD, Jaydev K. Dave, PhD, Krzysztof R Gorny, PhD, Nicholas J. Hangiandreou, PhD, Christin A. TiegsHeiden, MD, Gina K. Hesley, MD, and Aiming Lu from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN (poster)
- *TU-1015-206-1 Ultrasound-Mediated Opening of the Blood-Brain Barrier Facilitates Neuromodulation, Immunomodulation, and Drug Delivery by Elisa Konofagou, PhD from Columbia University, New York, NY (oral presentation)
- *TU-1015-206-2 Antivascular Photo-Mediated Ultrasound Therapy by Xinmai Yang from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (oral presentation)
- *TU-1015-206-3 Beyond Imaging: Ultrasound as a Tool for Molecular Diagnosis of Brain Tumors by Hong Chen, PhD from Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO (oral presentation)
- *TU-1015-206-4 Ultrasound Imaging for Precision Guidance in Magnetic Nanoparticle–Mediated Hyperthermia by Theo Zeferino Pavan, PhD, from the University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Brazil (oral presentation)
- *TU-1015-206-5 Unlocking the Power of Sound: An Overview of Ongoing Clinical Focused Ultrasound in Pediatric Neurosurgery by Hasan Raza Syed, MD, Children’s National Hospital, Washington, WA (oral presentation)
- *TU-1015-206-6 All-Acoustic Tomo-Theranostic System by Mohammad Mehrmohammadi, PhD, from the University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY (oral presentation)
- *TU-1015-206-7 The Application of Histotripsy to Alter Tissue Diffusivity by Kenneth B. Bader from the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (oral presentation)
The Foundation thanks Dr. Syed for his assistance with this meeting report.
Search the AAPM 2025 Meeting Program
Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC)
AAIC 2025 was held July 27–31 in Toronto and virtually. With the goal of advancing dementia science and clinical practice, AAIC is the largest international meeting to convene researchers, clinicians, and dementia professionals. More than 10,000 attendees from 135 countries convened for the conference.
Similar to 2018 in Chicago, this year’s conference included a featured research session on focused ultrasound. Titled “Advances in Focused Ultrasound for Alzheimer’s Disease: The Most Powerful Sound You Will Never Hear,” this session was chaired by Elisa Konofagou, PhD, and Nir Lipsman, MD, PhD. It included five presentations:
- Modulating Glial Activity with Focused Ultrasound Against Alzheimer’s Disease by Sophie Morse, PhD, from Imperial Hospital, London, United Kingdom
- Translational Research with FUS BBBO and Neuromodulation for AD by Jürgen Götz, PhD, from University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Extensive FUS BBBO to Improve Symptoms of AD by Jin-Woo Chang, MD, PhD, from Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
- FUS BBBO with a Portable FUS System and Real Time Mapping by Elisa Konofagou, PhD, from Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Combination of Focused Ultrasound Blood-Brain Barrier Opening with Lecanemab Therapy by Ali Rezai, MD, et al. from the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute at West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
“Several prominent researchers came together to share their expertise and synthesize the many concepts on how focused ultrasound could potentially be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease,” said Suzanne LeBlang, MD, the Foundation’s director of clinical relationships. “For example, focused ultrasound neuromodulation is being investigated, and focused ultrasound plus microbubbles to open the blood-brain barrier (BBB) has been proven to increase drug delivery. In fact, using focused ultrasound BBB opening alone – without the addition of a therapeutic – may be beneficial in itself. Finally, preclinical and clinical research has provided significant evidence showing that focused ultrasound can be used to increase the clearance of amyloid and tau and even decrease inflammation.”
The following presentations and posters were also included in the meeting:
- Focused Ultrasound Enhances Targeted Gene Delivery of Intravenous AAV to the Brain by Malik White et al. from the University of Toronto and Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- The Impact of Blood-Brain Barrier Modulation by Focused Ultrasound on Oligodendrogenesis for Alzheimer’s Disease by Kate Noseworthy et al. from the University of Toronto and Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Gene Immunotherapy Regulated by Astrocytic Reactivity in a Mouse Model of Amyloidosis by Chinaza Dibia et al. from the University of Toronto and Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Modulating Glial Activity with Focused Ultrasound Against Alzheimer’s Disease by Sophie Morse from Imperial Hosptial, London, United Kingdom
- Exploring Low-Intensity Focused-ultrasound Neuromodulation in Alzheimer’s Disease by Ali R Rezai et al. from Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
- Individualized Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Stimulation Improves Cognitive Impairment in Alzheimer’s Disease Patients by Enhancing the Default Mode Network by
Jianwei Ge et al. from the First Affiliated Hospital School of Medicine and Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China - Mitigation of Tau Propagation by Ultrasound Blood-Brain Barrier Opening by Benoit Delatour, et al. from the Paris Brain Institute (ICM), Inserm, CNRS, Sorbonne University, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, and APHP, Paris, Ile de France, France
- Combination of Focused Ultrasound Blood-Brain Barrier Opening with Lecanemab Therapy in Mild Alzheimer’s Disease by Ali R Rezai, et al. from the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute at West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,
- Effects of Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation on Brain Amyloid Load in Alzheimer’s Disease by Jaeho Kim et al. from Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, Yonsei University, Incheon, and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul, Korea, Republic of (South)
- Extensive FUS BBBO to Improve Symptoms of AD by Jin Woo Chang from the Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Seoul, Korea, Republic of (South)
- Novel Approach to Improve Immunotherapy Efficacy while Mitigating Side Effects of Alzheimer’s Disease. An Experimental Approach by Giulio Maria Pasinetti et al. From the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, New York and the Bronx, NY, USA
- Translational Research with FUS BBBO and Neuromodulation for AD by Jürgen Götz from the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- FUS BBBO with a Portable FUS System and Real-Time Mapping by Elisa Konofagou from Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
The scientific content from AAIC 2025 will be published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
In other related news, AAIC released its first Clinical Practice Guidelines for Blood-Based Biomarker Tests.
AAIC 2026 will be held July 12–16 in London.
Gordon Research Conference on Protein Engineering
The Gordon Research Conference on Protein Engineering was held July 27–August 1, 2025 at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island (USA). With an attendance of approximately 200 academic researchers (faculty, postdocs, and graduate students), industry scientists from leading biotech and pharmaceutical companies (e.g., Amgen, Pfizer, Merck), and a smaller group of clinician-scientists engaged in translational research, the highly interdisciplinary meeting fostered vibrant discussions across protein engineering, synthetic biology, and therapeutic applications.
Longwei Liu, PhD, an assistant professor in the Keck School of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology, the Roski Eye Institute, and the Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC), attended the conference and presented his research on focused ultrasound–controllable immunotherapy.
During the Protein Engineering for Immunotherapy and Other Diseases session, Dr. Liu presented a talk titled “Sonogenetic Engineering for Next-Generation CAR-T Cell Therapy.” The talk highlighted the use of ultrasound-controllable switches for spatiotemporal regulation of immune cells, specifically CAR-T activity. The presentation emphasized recent efforts to develop EchoBack-CAR-T cells, which integrate with focused ultrasound–responsive genetic circuits for localized activation, enabling safer and more precise immunotherapy, particularly in solid tumors.
The presentation received enthusiastic feedback from both academic and industry attendees, and many were intrigued to see cellular engineering merging with device engineering, specifically ultrasound technologies. Several participants expressed strong interest in the sonogenetic platform’s potential for clinical translation, particularly for overcoming current challenges in CAR-T therapy safety and specificity while maintaining therapeutic efficiency. There were follow-up questions about integrating the platform with machine learning-guided or directed evolution-based protein design, highlighting strong cross-disciplinary synergy, forming potential collaborations, and applying this approach to other engineered cell therapies and gene editing systems controlled by focused ultrasound.
“Some attendees were introduced to sonogenetics for the first time, in contrast to the more widely known optogenetics,” said Dr. Liu. “The concept of using focused ultrasound as a noninvasive, deep-tissue control modality sparked strong interest, especially due to its translational advantages over light- or chemical- based systems.”
The Foundation thanks Dr. Liu for submitting this meeting report. His new laboratory at USC was opened in 2025.