Key Points
- Four recent conferences featured focused ultrasound presentations.
- Use the links below to access meeting programs and abstract information.
North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) Neural Interfaces 2025
Neural Interfaces 2025 was held June 12–14 in Arlington, Virginia. The three-day meeting allows scientists, engineers, clinicians, patient advocacy groups, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, industry representatives, and government leaders to gather and share ideas and solutions for using neural interfaces to improve health. It features special lectures, panel discussions, and poster presentations. NANS first hosted the conference in 2016 and 2021 and is now continuing to host it indefinitely.
Two Foundation representatives, Suzanne LeBlang, MD, and Hongchae Iris Baek, PhD, attended the meeting. “We saw many compelling studies suggesting that neuromodulation performed with other devices, such as deep brain stimulation, could potentially be replaced by noninvasive focused ultrasound neuromodulation,” said Dr. Baek. “Ultrasound neuromodulation is gaining significant momentum, especially in the psychiatric disease space. One topic we found deeply relatable was the effort to advance closed-loop neuromodulation. This is particularly important in psychiatry, where therapeutic effects are often delayed and follow heterogeneous timelines—unlike movement disorders, where responses are typically more immediate and predictable.”
Focused ultrasound neuromodulation research was featured in three of the poster presentations:
- (1) A Focused Ultrasound Helmet for Spatially Targeted Brain Intervention by Yu Xuan Chin and Hong Chen from Washington University in St. Louis
- (28) Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation for Mitigating Chronic Pain in Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease by Pankaj Pandey, Carolina Torres-Rojas, and Ranganatha Sitaram from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- (43) Low-intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Reduces Microglia Activation at the Electrode Interface and Increases Chronic Recording Yield by Roger B. Bagwell, Fan Li, Jazlyn Gallego, Takashi D.Y. Kozai, Olga Ocon Grove, Kevin Snook, and Jenna Greaser from Actuated Medical, Inc. and the University of Pittsburgh
The full abstracts are available on the meeting website.
Search the Neural Interfaces 2025 Website
6th Yangtze Summit of Minimally Invasive and Noninvasive Medicine and Annual Academic Conference of the Focused Ultrasound Therapy Branch of the Chongqing Medical Association
“The future of minimally invasive and noninvasive medicine” was the theme of the 2025 Yangtze Summit of Minimally Invasive and Noninvasive Medicine, which was held June 21–22 in Chongqing, China, and hosted by the International Society of Minimally Invasive and Virtual Surgery (ISMIVS).
Professor Zhibiao Wang, founder and chairman of Chongqing Medical Focused Ultrasound Technology Development Co., Ltd. gave the opening keynote lecture, “Advances and Future Directions of Minimally Invasive and Noninvasive Medicine.” He also presented another session on key clinical insights when using focused ultrasound to treat tumors.
Alan H. Matsumoto, MD, the director of the University of Virginia (UVA) Focused Ultrasound Center of Excellence and a professor of Radiology and Medical Imaging at UVA Health, served as faculty at the meeting. He presented, “Focused Ultrasound for Uterine Fibroids and Breast Fibroadenomas and Histotripsy for Liver Cancer.”
The two-day event featured more just under 100 presentations, panel discussions, and debates. It was followed by one-day hands-on workshop on HIFU therapy where participants learned the working principles and operational techniques of using this innovative technology. Attendees also enjoyed a gala dinner.
Visit the 6th Yangtze Summit Meeting Website
4th Annual Advanced Therapeutics in Movement and Related Disorders Congress (ATMRD)
Held June 27–30, 2025, in National Harbor, Maryland, the 4th Annual ATMRD Congress gathered clinicians, patients, and care providers to discuss the latest advances in movement disorder clinical practice. The annual event is hosted by the Parkinson & Movement Disorder (PMD) Alliance in partnership with MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.
At this year’s meeting, Justin Martello, MD, a neurologist at Christiana Care in Wilmington, Delaware, discussed how focused ultrasound may be emerging as a preferred, less invasive treatment option for essential tremor, especially in older patients with comorbidities. See “Increased Awareness for Essential Tremor Treatment, MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound” [5-minute video], as posted on Neurology Live.
Read the PMD Alliance’s Meeting Summary
Visit the ATMRD Meeting Website
International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound (ISTU) 2025
The International Symposium for Therapeutic Ultrasound (ISTU) 2025 was held June 21–24, 2025, in Banff, Alberta, Canada, and virtually. (Virtual registration is still available.) This annual meeting convenes approximately 300 researchers, clinicians, industry professionals, and students from around the world who are working on a wide array of therapeutic ultrasound applications. ISTU provides a forum for sharing the latest research in focused ultrasound and related modalities, including drug delivery, neuromodulation, oncology, and more. The event is organized by the International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound and regularly features speakers from academia, medicine, and industry. Read the Full Meeting Report.