Key Points
- ISTU 2024 was held September 19–22 in Taipei, Taiwan.
- Awards were given by ISTU and the Foundation to recognize important contributions to the field.
The 23rd Annual International Symposium on Therapeutic Ultrasound (ISTU) was held September 19–22, 2024, at the Taipei International Convention Center in Taipei, Taiwan, and virtually. The Foundation was one of the meeting sponsors, and several Foundation staff attended in person, including Chairman Neal F. Kassell, MD, Emily White, MD, Jessica Che-yi Chao, Frédéric Padilla, PhD, David Moore, Dong-Guk Paeng, PhD, and Chrit Moonen, PhD.
ISTU 2024 featured 57 late-breaking posters, 122 regular posters, and 88 oral talks. There were 449 in-person attendees and 60 virtual attendees.
All presentation details are available on the meeting’s program website.
“This year’s ISTU meeting was outstanding and well attended, especially by young scientists and engineers. It was incredibly well organized, and many attendees enthusiastically mentioned the Foundation’s role in moving the field forward and supporting their ongoing work,” said Dr. Kassell. “Beyond ISTU, the Foundation’s Asia team, including Jessica Che-yi Chao, Shirley Lin, and Bernice Szeto, arranged productive meetings in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Taipei, Seoul, and Tokyo that allowed Foundation staff to visit companies, form new partnerships, and connect with researchers, clinicians, and industry experts across the region.”
During the trip to ISTU, Dr. Kassell spoke with the South China Morning Post about the potential of focused ultrasound in cancer treatment (See “Ultrasound cancer treatment, supported by Li Ka-shing, gains traction in Asia: US expert”).
ISTU Daily Content
Thursday, September 19
Thursday’s agenda included a tour of EpiSonica, a focused ultrasound manufacturer with multiple MR-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound applications. The company is located in the city of Hsinchu at the Biomedical & High Tech Industry Park.
Friday, September 20
Friday began with an educational session titled “FUS Basics.” The meeting’s opening remarks were followed by two plenary talks: Kullervo Hynynen, PhD, from Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Toronto presented, “Expanding use of Focused Ultrasound for Brain Treatments” and Katsuro Tachibana, MD, PhD, from Fukuoka University presented, “The Future of Nanobubbles for Drug Delivery.” Scientific session topics included preclinical brain studies, thermal therapy, emerging technology, and immunotherapy/oncology/combination therapy. A highlight of Friday afternoon was the Brain Clinical Session and Brain Clinical Panel. Verasonics hosted a welcome reception with a special selection of unique Taiwanese appetizers and drinks and the Future of Therapeutic Ultrasound Poster Session, which allows academic and industry leaders to network and speak directly with current graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who are actively seeking positions.
Saturday, September 21
Saturday morning’s educational session featured AI in Ultrasound. The Fry, Lizzi, and Early Clinical Awards were presented (see below for winners) followed by a student award talks and posters. A highlight of Saturday afternoon was the Body Clinical Session and Body Clinical Panel. A general assembly was held for ISTU members followed by the Foundation’s award ceremony and a student mentorship session. The evening featured a gala event on the top floor of the Taipai New Horizon, where attendees had the opportunity to learn about Taiwanese culture by donning local costumes for photos.
Sunday, September 22
Treatment monitoring was the topic of the morning educational session. Scientific sessions featured histotripsy, treatment monitoring, drug/gene delivery, and physics/modeling/hardware. “Immuno Stimulation: Thermal or Mechanical?” was the topic for the ever-popular debate session. The debaters were Thermal: Tatiana Khokhlova, PhD (University of Washington) and Mechanical: Natasha D. Sheybani, PhD (University of Virginia), and the debate was moderated by Zhen Xu, PhD (University of Michigan). Student awards were announced, followed by closing remarks. The TAITU Symposium: Taiwan Japan Korea Therapeutic Ultrasound Forum was held Sunday afternoon, and a tour of NaviFUS was also offered.
ISTU 2024 Award Winners
The William and Francis Fry Honorary Fellowship for Contributions to Therapeutic Ultrasound was awarded to Pai-Chi Li, PhD (National Taiwan University). Frederic Lizzi Early Career Awards were given to Julianna C. Simon, PhD (Pennsylvania State University) and Eli Vlaisavljevich, PhD (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University). George R. Schade, MD, received the Early Career Clinical Investigator Award.
The highest level of student achievement, the Nadine Barrie Smith Award, recognizes exemplary student achievements and was awarded to Thomas Biscaldi, MEng, a PhD student at LabTAU, INSERM, and the Université de Lyon. The title of his talk was “Dual-Mode US Interstitial Catheter for Robotic US-Navigation-guided Conformal HIFU Therapy: In-Vitro Experimental Validation.”
The Student Best Poster Award was given to: Vanessa Drevenakova, Imperial College London, for “Microglial Response to Transcranial Ultrasound: Insights into Activation Patterns Across Different Ultrasound Parameters.”
The Student Best Oral Award was given to Mahsa Mokhlesabadi, Sunnybrook Research Institute, for “Comparative Analysis of Healthy Spinal Cord and F98 Glioma Tumor Sensitivity to Focused Ultrasound and Microbubbles.”
Focused Ultrasound Foundation Awards
The Foundation presented four awards at the ISTU meeting in Taiwan. Elisa E. Konofagou, PhD, received the 2024 Visionary Award, honoring her passion and persistence as a pioneer of focused ultrasound. Professor Wladyslaw “Wady” Gedroyc, MBBS, MRCP, FRCR, was selected as the recipient of the 2024 Clinical Adoption Award to recognize his dedication to advancing the field of focused ultrasound and his efforts that have led to a significant number of patient treatments. Rosie Xing, PhD, managing director of Global Planning, International Marketing, and Business at Chongqing Haifu Medical Technology Co., Ltd. received the Commercialization Pathfinder Award, recognizing her contributions to advancing the commercial applications of focused ultrasound technology. Chrit Moonen, PhD, was honored with the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award, highlighting his devotion to advancing focused ultrasound therapy and improving the lives of patients.
The Taiwan Association of Interventional and Therapeutic Ultrasound (TAITU) held its annual meeting right after ISTU.
ISTU 2025 will take place June 21–24 in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Registration and abstract submissions are now open. February 17, 2025, is the deadline for submitting oral and poster abstracts, and this is also the deadline to be considered for student registration awards.