Key Points
- Last year’s most-clicked articles included news about clinical research for brain tumors, pancreatic cancer, addiction, and Alzheimer’s disease.
- Readers were also interested in industry milestones and patient stories.
10. Alzheimer’s Disease: New Focused Ultrasound Clinical Trial Shows Safety and Potential Clinical Benefits (January 2025)
Results from a novel clinical trial using focused ultrasound to treat Alzheimer’s disease were published in the Journal of Neurosurgery. Researchers in Korea found repeated, extensive focused ultrasound–mediated blood-brain barrier opening on both frontal lobes to be safe and potentially beneficial. The treatment decreased amyloid plaques in some patients and participants also showed improvement in one neuropsychiatric test.
9. Young-Onset Parkinson’s Patient Motivated to Expand Access to Focused Ultrasound (October 2025)
After his diagnosis at age 42, Bobby tried various medications for four years, but they caused him to become depressed and disengaged from his family. Focused ultrasound treatment relieved his tremors and motivated him to launch his own nonprofit, the Be Still Foundation. Although focused ultrasound is not a cure for Parkinson’s disease, it can treat several of its most debilitating symptoms. Now more than three years later, Bobby is still tremor-free and has become an advocate for fellow patients with Parkinson’s disease.
8. Focused Ultrasound for Opioid Addiction: New Clinical Trial Results Published (April 2025)
Results from a clinical trial at West Virginia University using focused ultrasound neuromodulation for the treatment of opioid use disorder were published in Biological Psychiatry. The intervention significantly reduced substance cravings, and most participants did not use opioids or other substances during the 90-day follow-up period. The authors concluded that larger, sham-controlled, randomized studies are warranted, and the team at RNI/WVU has initiated this trial with an intended sample size of 30 participants.
7. IMGT’s IMD10 Granted US FDA Breakthrough Device Designation (March 2025)
IMGT (IMage Guided Therapy) announced that its focused ultrasound system, IMD10, was designated as a breakthrough device by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Breakthrough Devices Program was established in 2018 to allow fast-tracking of certain novel and more effective devices to expedite patient access. IMD10 is the seventh focused ultrasound system to earn the distinction and IMGT is the first Korean company to earn the status for a device to treat cancer.
6. Pancreatic Cancer: Two Focused Ultrasound Clinical Trials Have Begun in Germany (March 2025)
Two new German clinical trials are taking different approaches to treating pancreatic cancer. Researchers at University Hospital/Universitätsklinik Bonn are conducting a clinical trial that is comparing the combination of focused ultrasound and chemotherapy with standard systemic chemotherapy alone in newly diagnosed patients. A second trial is ablating locally advanced, nonresectable or metastatic pancreatic cancer in patients with stable disease after completing first-line chemotherapy.
5. Glioblastoma Clinical Trial: Focused Ultrasound Blood-Brain Barrier Opening is Safe, Provides Possible Survival Benefit (November 2025)
Data from a proof-of-concept study conducted at sites in the US and Canada show that it is safe to use focused ultrasound blood-brain barrier opening before chemotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. When compared with a matched control group, this clinical trial is the first to report a likely survival benefit. The results were published in Lancet Oncology.
4. Transformational Milestone Reached in Evolution of Focused Ultrasound: HistoSonics Acquired for $2.25 Billion (August 2025)
HistoSonics became the first “unicorn” in the field of focused ultrasound when it executed a majority stake acquisition by a group of globally recognized private and public investors, valuing the company at $2.25 billion. The sale was led by K5 Global, Bezos Expeditions, and Wellington Management. The company’s Edison® Histotripsy System has been used to treat more than 2,000 patients at over 50 active centers worldwide.
3. Downton Abbey Creator Lord Julian Fellowes Shares His Focused Ultrasound Story (September 2025)
Lord Julian Fellowes, Oscar-winning screenwriter and acclaimed creator of Downton Abbey and The Gilded Age, revealed that he underwent focused ultrasound therapy to treat his essential tremor. He partnered with Insightec to create a video that shows how the condition affected his writing—an ability central to his personal and professional life—and how focused ultrasound helped him regain this skill and a sense of normalcy. Watch the video.
2. Focused Ultrasound for Low Back Pain: First-of-Its-Kind Device Receives FDA Clearance (November 2025)
FUSMobile announced that its Neurolyser XR system was granted clearance by the FDA for the treatment of chronic low back pain. The device, which uses focused ultrasound to ablate sensory nerves in the spinal facet joints, is also approved in Europe, Canada, and the UK.
1. FDA Approves Bilateral Focused Ultrasound Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease (July 2025)
The FDA ruled that appropriate patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease can have focused ultrasound treatment on the second side of their brain. This is an important milestone for the technology, as Parkinson’s is a systemic disease with symptoms like rigidity and dyskinesia that affect the whole body. The treatment for one side was first cleared in 2021.