Key Points
- Focused ultrasound was the topic of multiple plenary and specialty section sessions, including its potential uses in functional neurosurgery, brain tumor therapy, and epilepsy.
- Abdul-Kareem Ahmed, MD, won the Young Investigator Award for his abstract on Maryland’s clinical trial using focused ultrasound to treat trigeminal neuralgia.
With a theme of “What Matters,” the AANS Annual Scientific Meeting took place May 3–6, 2024, in Chicago. The conference provided an opportunity for the neurosurgical community and industry leaders convened to network and explore groundbreaking advances in the field, showcase innovative technologies, and discuss the future of neurosurgery.
Special Session on Focused Ultrasound
On Saturday, May 4, P. David Adelson, MD, FAAP, FACS, FAANS, professor of neurosurgery at the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute at West Virginia University School of Medicine, moderated a 90-minute session titled “Focused Ultrasound: Experience and Opportunities.” In the session, which included three presentations followed by an open table discussion, focused ultrasound was highlighted as the technology showing the potential of noninvasive treatment modalities to revolutionize pediatric health care.
- Robert Keating, MD, the McCullough distinguished professor and chief of Neurosurgery at Children’s National Hospital, presented “Children’s National Hospital Experience.” He discussed their ongoing low-frequency ultrasound/blood-brain barrier disruption trials for brainstem glioma.
- John Ragheb, MD, Chief of the Department of Surgery and a professor of clinical neurosurgery and pediatrics at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, presented “Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Experience.” He focused on the potential use of focused ultrasound in the treatment of hypothalamic hamartoma.
- Manish Ranjan, MBBS, MCh, assistant professor of neurosurgery at WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, presented “Focused Ultrasound: Current and Emerging Indications,” where he highlighted the WVU experience with ablation and neuromodulation.
“This special session was fully subscribed and standing room only,” said Dr. Ragheb. “The neurosurgery community is very excited about the potential for focused ultrasound to dramatically change the future of neuro-oncology and functional neurosurgery.”
Abstracts
In the abstract session, Abdul-Kareem Ahmed, MD, a neurosurgical resident at the University of Maryland, won the William H. Sweet Young Investigators Award for his abstract titled “Focused ultrasound central lateral thalamotomy for refractory trigeminal neuralgia: Interim phase I trial results.”
Andrew Gould, a medical student in the Department of Neurological Surgery at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine (Chicago, IL), presented “Transcriptional and Structural Consequences of Acute Neurovascular Permeability on the Cerebral Endothelium via Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound: Modeling Acute Blood Brain Barrier Disruption in Humans.”
Search or find all abstracts here.
Industry Participation
As a bronze-level sponsor, on Sunday, May 5, Insightec presented an in-booth Neuro Spotlight on “Advances in Focused Ultrasound: Exablate Prime, the Next Generation Platform for Precision Surgery.” Matt Wallace, vice president of sales for the Americas, and Eyal Zadicario, PhD, chief operating officer and general manager, led the 20-minute-long presentation.
Carthera did not participate as a sponsor, but Chief Scientific Officer Michael Canney, PhD, participated as an abstract author, and the company supported the low-intensity pulsed ultrasound research presented by the Northwestern University investigators.
Next Meeting and Abstract Deadline
The AANS 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting will take place April 25–28, 2025, in Boston. Abstract submission is open until Monday, November 4, 2024 at 5 pm CT.
Meeting Highlights
See the AANS 2024 Meeting Highlights page.
The Foundation thanks Dr. Ragheb for assistance with this meeting report.