Key Points
- The 2nd HIFUture Symposium was held on April 21, 2023, in Lyon, France.
- Presentations featured clinical advances in the use of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) across interventional radiology, neurology, digestive surgery, gynecology, and cardiology.
The 2nd HIFUture Symposium was held on April 21, 2023, in Lyon, France, as a satellite meeting immediately following the 2023 combined International Society of Therapeutic Ultrasound (ISTU) and European Symposium of Focused Ultrasound (EUFUS) International Symposium. The event is hosted biennially by the Laboratory of Therapeutic Applications of Ultrasound (LabTAU). The theme of the day was “Let’s imagine today the ultrasound treatments of tomorrow!”
In 2021, the inaugural HIFUture conference highlighted focused ultrasound activities in France to other invited researchers and clinicians. This year, the scope was expanded, and ISTU attendees were invited to stay an extra day to specifically understand the focused ultrasound clinical ecosystem from a providers’ perspective. There was great engagement from the attendees.
“Organizing this new edition right after ISTU23 was a unique opportunity to bring early adopters to Lyon in order to promote the field and inform the local clinical community of their last results,” said Cyril Lafon, PhD, the research director at LABTAU.
In-person and virtual attendees enjoyed the following presentations from clinical and academic leaders (listed by specialty):
Interventional Radiology
- Pr. Laurent Milot (HEH, Lyon, France)
- Pr. Afshin Gangi (CHRU, Strasbourg, France)
Neurology
- Pr. Alexandre Carpentier (APHP, Paris, France)
- Pr. Nir Lipsman (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Canada)
Digestive Surgery
- Pr. Joan Vidal-Jove (Khuab Institute, Barcelona, Spain)
Gynecology
- Pr. Christopher Lees (Imperial College, London, UK)
- Dr. Charles-André Philiop (HEH, Lyon, France)
Cardiology
- Pr. Emmanuel Messas (APHP, Paris, France)
“HIFUture’s inspiration was the result of LabTAU’s designation as a Focused Ultrasound Center of Excellence and the lab members’ desire to educate others on focused ultrasound,” said Emily White, MD, the Foundation’s Managing Director for Operations and the Director of FUS Partners, who attended the meeting and served as a moderator. “It is always an honor to be included as a moderator of a session at any conference, because it is a good opportunity to catch up with longtime friends of the Foundation whose research we know well (and fund), along with meeting newer members of the community.”
The Focused Ultrasound Foundation was one of the sponsors of HIFUture 2023. Focused ultrasound Centers of Excellence have an education requirement and special funds for providing educational activities. LabTAU also created the focused ultrasound MOOC a few years ago.