Steroid injections, nerve stimulators and spinal fusions were no match for the chronic pain in Tammy Durfee’s left side — never mind the “searing-hot poker” sensation that would jab her leg without warning. After a decade searching for relief, a four-hour procedure in Baltimore put her pain to rest.
Neuroscientists have limited tools for understanding the human brain and treating its illnesses. Surgery or inserted electrodes are too invasive for most situations. Existing noninvasive technology, such as magnetic stimulation, is imprecise.
When considering treatments that can save their lives — but involve profound changes to their daily routines — millions of Americans have confronted the same frustrating reality: Why are there no better options?
A startup is putting low-frequency sound waves to use with the aim of revolutionizing how drugs are delivered in the human body. Suono Bio is developing technology that uses ultrasound to push drugs directly into the human body’s cells or tissues, potentially making the drugs arrive at their intended destination more quickly and with greater effect.
Researchers in Toronto have started a new phase of a trial that they hope will one day lead to the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease. Using a technique developed at Sunnybrook Hospital called focused ultrasound, the researchers are opening the blood-brain barrier in several areas of the brains of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.
Roughly 10 million people in the United States suffer from some sort of tremor disorder, whether that's essential tremor — the most common movement disorder — or the tremors resulting from Parkinson's disease. But a noninvasive treatment option that uses focused ultrasound to mitigate the effects of essential tremor is slowly making its way into hospitals worldwide.
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Tim Dobbyn suffered from violent tremors that made it challenging to work, cook, or even drink without spilling. NBC News followed Tim as he underwent focused ultrasound therapy at the University of Maryland Medical Center. After a few days post-treatment, Tim says his hand is “rock steady.”
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Learn how researchers are using this 100-year-old technology to battle challenging medical conditions in the modern day.
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Following the Foundation's participation in CES 2018, Forbes reports on the technology and the impact of John Grisham's The Tumor.
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Foundation Chairman, Neal Kassell, MD, poses this question on the World Economic Forum blog and alerts their global audience to the potential of focused ultrasound to improve outcomes for patients.
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Forbes interviews Foundation Chairman, Neal Kassell about the promise of focused ultrasound and his vision for the Foundation.
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Alexandra Lebenthal and Dr. Michael Kaplitt of Weill Cornell Medicine discuss Alexandra’s focused ultrasound treatment for essential tremor.
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An article reviews using focused ultrasound to destroy a spot in the thalamus that may help people with tremor.
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Neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Kaplitt and patient Alexandra Lebenthal discuss new advances in treating Essential Tremor, a nerve disorder.
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The Focused Ultrasound Foundation is featured on the cover of the annual Generous Virginians issue of Virginia Business.
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STAT News calls focused ultrasound an obscure medical technology that is “finally getting some high-profile attention.”
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On “Trust Me I’m a Doctor,” Surgeon Gabriel Weston witnesses an incredible brain surgery using only focused beams of ultrasound, performed as part of a clinical trial at the University of Virginia.
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