Key Points
- University Medical Center Utrecht and the Princess Máxima Center in Utrecht organized a Symposium on Therapeutic Ultrasound to the Brain.
- International and local experts presented updates on translational and clinical research on focused ultrasound blood-brain barrier opening and shared clinical trial plans.
On March 1, 2024, University Medical Centre (UMC) Utrecht, a Focused Ultrasound Center of Excellence, collaborated with the Princess Máxima Center in Utrecht to organize an in-person Symposium on Therapeutic Ultrasound to the Brain in the auditorium of the Princess Máxima Center in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The meeting was attended by more than 125 pediatric neuro-oncologists, neurosurgeons, neurologists, medical oncologists, neuro-radiologists, preclinical researchers, physicists, and other researchers or medical doctors interested in learning more about how focused ultrasound is being combined with intravascular microbubbles to open the blood-brain barrier (FUS-BBBO).
Co-organized by the Princess Máxima Center, UMC Utrecht, Hersenstichting, Leiden UMC, and Amsterdam UMC, the symposium provided a venue for international and national experts to present updates on translational and clinical research on FUS-BBBO and share plans for future clinical trials. Topics included:
- FUS-BBBO for localized drug delivery
- Transcranial thermal ablation
- Sonodynamic therapy
- Immunomodulation
- Neuromodulation
- Liquid biopsy
“The symposium was a scientific medical meeting, but an educational session was offered on the preceding day,” said Chrit Moonen, PhD, a managing director at the Foundation and co-director of the Foundation’s Research and Education Team who attended the event. “Attendee feedback was quite positive, with many indicating that they would consider therapeutic ultrasound as a treatment option more often.”
The educational session included a practical experience and a visit to the MR-guided focused ultrasound facilities. Attendees in the small and informal group were invited to observe laboratory experiments with thermal ablation and see the focused ultrasound devices in action.
The Dutch Neuro Focused Ultrasound Consortium organizers were Dr. Dannis G. van Vuurden, Dr. Tom J. Snijders, and Dr. Akke Bakker.