Blog

Key Points The International Journal of Hyperthermia is seeking manuscripts for an upcoming special collection on histotripsy.Suzanne LeBlang, MD, the Foundation’s director of clinical relationships, is one of the guest advisors for the collection.The deadline to submit a manuscript is March 10, 2023. The International Journal of Hyperthermia is requesting manuscripts for an upcoming special collection, “The Art of Histotripsy: A Focused Ultrasound Application that has the Potential to Treat from Head to Toe!” Histotripsy is a non-thermal method of using focused ultrasound to mechanically destroy target tissue. The goal of the collection is to solicit the contribution and submission of articles that describe the current state of the field with respect to understanding the following: Describe the technical aspects of histotripsyProvide a technical description of the mechanisms of action of histotripsy and its subtypes (boiling and nonboiling)Describe approaches to provide imaging guidance for histotripsy treatmentsDetail technical considerations on bypassing the skullDescribe preclinical histotripsy ablation research for varied clinical applicationsDescribe preclinical studies researching the immune response with histotripsyPresent early clinical data with liver ablation and optimal clinical trial designPresent current veterinary applications with histotripsy Suzanne LeBlang, MD, the Foundation’s director of clinical relationships, and Timothy J. Ziemlewicz, MD, associate professor of radiology at the University of Wisconsin, are serving as guest advisors for the collection. “Histotripsy is a rapidly developing area of focused ultrasound with the potential to impact many challenging diseases,” said Dr. Leblang. “At this stage, it is imperative that the field promotes early research and supports a collaborative environment for researchers in this space. We hope this special collection will both increase awareness of this modality and also encourage further studies.” To submit a manuscript, please visit the special collection page on the International Journal of Hyperthermia website. For any pre-submission enquiries, please contact Dr. LeBlang or Dr. Ziemlewicz. The submission deadline is March 10, 2023. Learn More about the Collection >

Key Points The Foundation’s Research Awards Program initiated five preclinical studies from July through September 2022, the third quarter of the year.The funded projects address immunotherapy, cardiovascular, and brain applications of focused ultrasound.Researchers will study immunotherapy for osteosarcoma, blood-brain barrier opening, and brain metastases from breast cancer. Others are working on deep vein thrombosis and transcranial histotripsy. The Foundation’s Research Awards Program initiated five new preclinical studies from July through September 2022, the third quarter of the year. The funded projects address immunotherapy, cardiovascular, and brain applications of focused ultrasound. Researchers will study immunotherapy for osteosarcoma, blood-brain barrier opening, and brain metastases from breast cancer. Others are working on deep vein thrombosis and transcranial histotripsy. Each newly initiated project is listed below. Immunotherapy Investigating the Immunotherapeutic Effects of Histotripsy Ablation in Osteosarcoma led by Alayna Hay, PhD, at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary MedicineThis project is using in vivo and in vitro models of osteosarcoma to investigate whether histotripsy ablation can modulate both local and systemic immunity, stimulate an anti-tumor immune response, and mitigate metastatic disease. Improving of Bioeffects During Focused Ultrasound Microbubble Treatments led by Alexander Klibanov, PhD, at the University of Virginia Focused Ultrasound Immunotherapy CenterThis project seeks to optimize microbubble characteristics to improve safety and efficacy for blood-brain barrier opening when delivering immunotherapeutics. The size of the microbubbles is of particular interest. Closed-Loop MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound—Controlled Activation of CAR T Cells in Brain Tumors led by Costas Arvanitis, PhD, at the Georgia Institute of TechnologyThis project will use focused ultrasound hyperthermia to control intratumoral production of T-cell engagers and create potential anti-tumor responses in breast-cancer primary brain metastases. Cardiovascular Venous Recanalization by Ultrasound Cavitation of Chronic Venous Thrombosis in a Swine Model led by Mathieu Pernot, PhD, at LabTAUThis project will investigate whether focused ultrasound histotripsy can be used for clot lysis to improve recanalization after deep vein thrombosis. Brain Technical The All-in-One Rodent Ultrasound Therapy System led by Zhen Xu, PhD, at the University of MichiganFor this project, researchers will build an “everything-but-thermal-ablation” focused ultrasound system for small animal research. This transcranial ultrasound therapy system features a single transducer and electric driver that can deliver several modalities across a variety of ultrasound parameters. Learn How to Apply for a Research Award >

Key Points This article provides a preclinical and clinical overview of using low-intensity ultrasound plus microbubbles to disrupt the blood-brain barrier for the delivery of immunotherapies in Alzheimer’s disease.It then compares in vitro and in vivo models, strategies for combining therapeutic agents with microbubbles, and techniques to understand observable bioeffects.The authors discuss questions on how in vitro studies can be translated to animal and human applications. Opportunities and Challenges in Delivering Biologics for Alzheimer’s Disease by Low-Intensity Ultrasound Source: Queensland Brain Institute In this review article, Jürgen Götz, PhD, and his team at Queensland Brain Institute first provide an overview of preclinical and clinical trials that have used low-intensity ultrasound plus microbubbles to disrupt the blood-brain barrier (BBB) for the delivery of immunotherapies in Alzheimer’s disease. The immunotherapies described are those that target either amyloid-beta peptides or tau proteins. The article then compares various models for in vitro BBB studies, strategies for combining therapeutic agents with microbubbles, and the impact of super-resolution microscopy on the field. In vitro BBB models may be cellular, two-dimensional, or three-dimensional, and there are many molecular imaging techniques that can be used to understand the bioeffects that occur during these types of experiments. To conclude, the group discusses several treatment development and optimization questions on how in vitro studies can be translated to animal and human applications. See Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews >

The 37th Advances in Contrast Ultrasound International Bubble Conference took place from August 31 through September 2, 2022, in Chicago. Touted as “the world’s premier meeting dedicated to the science, research, and practice of cross-specialty contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS),” its two-day agenda included worldwide uses, clinical studies, sonothrombolysis, educational outreach, advanced applications, and expert case presentations. The meeting audience includes clinicians, physiologists, engineers, and scientists working in the fields of cardiology, radiology, vascular medicine, gynecology, gastroenterology, and body imaging. Representing the focused ultrasound community, Kullervo Hynynen, PhD, from Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Toronto, presented “Brain Cancer Therapy,” and John Eisenbrey, PhD, from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, presented “Microbubble Cavitation Augmentation of Radiotherapy.” Both were members of the meeting’s impressive list of faculty. “The 37th annual bubble conference provided an excellent showcase of emerging therapeutic ultrasound-based technologies,” said Dr. Eisenbrey. “It was encouraging to see the wide variety of microbubble-based focused ultrasound therapies now in clinical trials including augmentation of chemotherapy in patients with pancreatic cancer,  opening of the blood-brain barrier for the treatment of brain cancers, and sonothrombolysis for the treatment of myocardial infarction.”