Privacy Policy


Effective Date: June 1, 2016

Purpose

The Focused Ultrasound Foundation (the “Foundation”) is committed to safeguarding Foundation website (the “Site”) visitor (the “Visitor”) privacy through procedures and technology designed for this purpose. This statement explains the Foundation’s online information practices and the choices Visitors can make about the way their information is collected and used. For easy and direct access, the Foundation provides a link to this statement from the Site homepage and all other pages of the Site. Other than as set forth below, the Foundation will not rent, sell or share personal information about Visitors with third parties. In case the need arises, the Foundation will ask Visitor permission before personal information is disclosed.


Web Data Collection

Log Information
When Visitors access the Foundation Site, Foundation servers will automatically collect log information. This information may include Visitor Web page requests, Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type, browser language, the date and time of the Visitor’s request, and one or more “cookies” that may uniquely identify the Visitor’s browser. The Foundation collects log information in an effort to properly administer the Foundation’s system and gather aggregate information about how the Foundation Site is being used, including the pages Visitors are viewing.

“Cookies”
The Foundation Site uses cookies. By using the Foundation Site, Visitors agree that the Foundation may place cookies on their device and access them when they visit the Foundation Site. A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that the Foundation puts on the Visitor’s computer. The cookies are used to collect anonymous information about the Visitor’s use of the Foundation Site, help the Foundation generate customized content and statistically monitor how many Visitors are using the Site and for what purpose. For polls, the Foundation may use cookies to ensure that an individual cannot vote more than once on a particular question or issue. The Foundation does not store any identifying information in any cookies on the Visitor’s computer.

If Visitors want to opt out of Foundation cookies, Visitors can delete them and any other cookies that are already on their computer. Visitors are encouraged to refer to the help and support areas on the internet browser for instructions on how to locate the file or directory that stores cookies. Some functionalities on the Foundation Site may be affected if cookies are deleted.

Web Beacons
The Foundation uses Web beacons, sometimes called single-pixel GIFs, that momentarily direct a Visitor’s browser to a server other than the Foundation’s in a way that may not be apparent to the Visitor. Web beacons are used to count users who visited specific pages and determine which emails were opened and/or acted upon when HTML-formatted email messages are sent. The Foundation does not link any Visitor identifying information to Web beacons.


Personal Information Collection and Use

Most of Foundation’s Site can be enjoyed as a Visitor, however Visitors will need to voluntarily subscribe or register in order to take advantage of certain free services on the Site. Whenever reasonably possible, the Foundation offers Visitors choices when asked for personal information, and Visitors are told why the Foundation collects different types of information. Visitors may always decline to provide personal information to the Foundation, although some features or services may not function properly as a result.

Subscriptions
When Visitors subscribe to receive Foundation communications on the Site, personal information such as name, email address and, optionally, address, occupation and phone number are collected. The Foundation does not and will not request additional information, including demographics, health interests, goals, medical history and/or vital statistics. Visitors can unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link included in every communication the Foundation sends.

Fellowship and Research Award Programs
Visitors may need to provide additional information or answer certain questions using a third party application submission system in order to participate in the fellowship and/or research award programs. The Foundation may contact applicants in connection with a particular fellowship or research award in order to provide application status, administer the program and send other related communications.

Opinions and Polls
The Foundation reserves the right to ask Visitors to give their opinion when visiting the Site. The Foundation uses information from opinion polls to better understand the needs of Site Visitors and to gather information about health care trends and issues. Questions and answers are stored, but they are not linked to identifying information about Visitors and will not be shared with third parties.

Comments
The Foundation invites Visitors to comment on Web postings. Comments are reviewed and any personal information is removed prior to posting to the Site. Once posted, these comments are public and may be reviewed by any Site Visitors.

Donations
The Foundation collects the following donation information through a third party, secure online financial-transaction pages: name, address, email address, phone number and credit card information. This personally identifiable information is used to acknowledge receipt of the donation for tax purposes and to subscribe the donor to Foundation communications, if the donor wishes to subscribe.

When a donation is sent in honor or in memory of someone and request that an acknowledgement be sent to another individual or family, the Foundation will use the name and address of the individual or family for acknowledgement purposes only.

See the Foundation Gift Acceptance and Donor Privacy Protection Policy for further information. (include link)


Security

The Foundation cares about the security of donation transactions and the third party system used applies industry-standard practices and technologies to safeguard Visitor credit card information. The Foundation’s third party uses high-grade encryption and the secure https protocol to communicate with the Visitor’s browser software, which guards against interception of the credit card information provided.

The Foundation also employs several security techniques to protect a Visitor’s personally identifiable information from unauthorized access by users inside and outside the organization. The Foundation limits employee access to Visitor personal information to only employees having a reasonable need to access this information to provide products and services to the Visitor. Employees who misuse information are subject to disciplinary action, including termination. Visitors should be aware, however, the “perfect security” does not exist on the Internet, and third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmission or private communications.


Communications

Newsletters
At various places on the Site, Visitors are given the option to subscribe to receive recurring informational newsletters. Visitors can unsubscribe from newsletters by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of any newsletter.

Email
From time to time, the Foundation may send Visitors service-related emails, such as a welcome email when a Visitor subscribes through the Site. Subscribed Visitors will receive newsworthy and/or informational emails. Similar to newsletters, Visitors can unsubscribe from receiving these emails by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of any email.

Email communication that Visitors send to the Foundation via the email links on the Site will only be viewed by Foundation employees. It is important for Visitors to understand that the Foundation is not a medical facility, and Foundation employees cannot and do not give medical advice. If Visitors provide personal health information in their email, this personal health information will be treated as confidential. 

 

Links to Other Websites

The Foundation’s site includes links, some temporary and some permanent, to other websites. The Foundation is not responsible for the privacy and security practices of any other website or the nature of the content contained therein.


Children’s Privacy

None of the content and information in the Foundation’s Site is targeted toward children under 13 years of age. The Foundation makes every effort possible to ensure the Foundation does not collect or maintain information on the Site from those who are known to be younger than 16 unless parental consent has been obtained in writing.


Disclosures

The Foundation may release personal information to third parties: (1) to comply with valid legal requirements such as a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena or court order; or (2) in special cases, such as a physical threat to Visitors or others, a threat to homeland security, a threat to the Foundation’s system or network, or cases in which the Foundation believes it is reasonably necessary to investigate or prevent harm, fraud, abuse, or illegal conduct. In the event that the Foundation is legally compelled to disclose a Visitor’s personal information to a third party, the Foundation will make reasonable efforts to notify the Visitor unless doing so would violate the law or court order.

Agents and Contractors
Contractors sometimes have access to Visitor personal information in the course of assisting in operating the Foundation’s business and providing products or services to Visitors. These contractors include vendors and suppliers that provide the Foundation with technology, services, and/or content for the operation and maintenance of the Site. Contractors have an obligation under their contracts with the Foundation to keep Visitor information confidential and to comply with this policy.

Aggregated, Non-personal Information
The Foundation may share aggregated information about Visitors with third parties. This is information that is combined with the non-personal information of other Visitors and does not allow individual Visitors to be identified or contacted. Depending on the circumstances, the Foundation may or may not charge third parties for this aggregated information. Additionally, the Foundation may not limit third party use of aggregated information.

The Foundation Mission
The Foundation works in continuous collaboration with a variety of organizations, some with competing or proprietary interests, to achieve the Foundation’s mission to accelerate the adoption of focused ultrasound technologies. Transparency and openness are fundamental to achieving this mission, and are essential to rapid progress and collaboration.

  1. In general, information regarding the Foundation’s activities is public. Accordingly, the Foundation is not interested in obtaining confidential or proprietary information from or about any stakeholders.
  2. Notwithstanding the above, we respect the need for confidentiality and do not wish to compromise the confidentiality of sensitive information that may be shared with the Foundation either intentionally or inadvertently. The Foundation will therefore use reasonable efforts not to disclose, except to the extent required by law, any confidential information the Foundation receives that is clearly marked as confidential at the time of disclosure or is identified in writing as confidential within ten days after disclosure if disclosed orally or in other intangible form.

Changes in Organization Structure

If the structure of the Foundation changes due to a merger or is otherwise transferred to another entity, the personal information Visitors have provided at this Site may be transferred as part of that transaction. The Foundation will take commercially reasonable steps to ensure that, without Visitor consent, any personal information that is transferred will not be used or shared in a manner inconsistent with the Privacy Policy under which it was collected.


Changes to this Policy

The Foundation reserves the right to update this Policy. The Foundation will notify Visitors about material changes in the way personal information is treated by sending a notice to the email address specified in the Visitor’s account. The Foundation may also make nonmaterial changes to this Policy that generally will not affect the Foundation’s use of Visitor personal information. If a Visitor doesn’t agree with the new policy, the Visitor may unregister his/her account at any time. Please see instructions for unsubscribing above. The current policy, identified by its effective date, will be posted on the Site, and Visitors should check it frequently.


Contact Us

If there are any questions or concerns about the Foundation’s policy, Visitors may contact the Foundation at this email address: info@fusfoundation.org.