Meeting Report: Therapeutic Ultrasound Featured at AAAS Annual Meeting

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“Revolutionizing Ultrasound Applications for Treating Disease” was the title of a scientific session held during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) February 15–19, 2018, in Austin, TX. The workshop proved to be an auspicious opportunity to raise awareness of therapeutic ultrasound with a large and diverse audience of international scientists. The 90-minute session offered attendees a review of new therapeutic applications for ultrasound that are “revolutionizing the treatment of disease: surgery without cutting, drug delivery without systemic exposure, and permeation without tearing.” It also touted the technology’s ability to improve patient outcomes and lower the cost of care. For the technically oriented crowd, the session described the science behind acoustic wave manipulation and the latest research in key applications.

AAAS austinThe Foundation’s Chief Scientific Officer, Jessica Foley, PhD, attended the AAAS special session and provided its estimated 50 attendees with handout materials describing an overview of the field of focused ultrasound and our Foundation as a catalyst for advancing the field. “I was pleased that focused ultrasound was featured at a meeting with the prestige of AAAS,” said Dr. Foley. “This annual meeting is attended by scientists from all disciplines, and the exposure helps raise interest in therapeutic ultrasound which can lead to new collaborations and broader general awareness.”

The session on Saturday, February 17, included the following presentations plus a discussion with an engaged audience:

Similar to the vision and goals of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, AAAS seeks to “advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people.” According to their 2016 Annual Report, AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science (www.sciencemag.org), as well as five other journals.

Founded in 1848, AAAS includes more than 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, and serves 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world. The nonprofit is open to all and fulfills its mission to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, public engagement, and more. A service of AAAS, EurekAlert! is the premier science-news website for the latest research news.