Also in this Issue:

Symposium spotlights 15 Young Investigators >

Symposium Book available online >

Scientific program at a glance >

Special evening events foster collaboration, information sharing >

Panel presentations explore areas of opportunity and controversy >

Lunchtime discussions offer small group interactions on a variety of topics >

Sponsor acknowledgment >

More about the Foundation

Vision and Mission

Strategic Focus

Board of Directors

Staff

Annual Report

Symposium registration
Hotel reservations

Funding from National Cancer Institute enabled a 50% increase in the number of awards presented

Fifteen early career scientists will be spotlighted as 2012 Young Investigators during the 3rd International Symposium on Focused Ultrasound. (See roster below.) All will present their work during the Evening Poster Session on Tuesday, October 16 and receive up to $2,000 in reimbursement for symposium-related expenses. Many Young Investigators will also be plenary session speakers.

"These young researchers represent the future of focused ultrasound," said Foundation Chairman, Neal Kassell, M.D. "Their commitment to pushing the envelope of discovery and clinical application to new levels is inspiring and energizing to us all."

Want to preview the 170+ abstracts being presented at the 3rd International Symposium on Focused Ultrasound? All abstracts and conference details are available in this year's 242-page Symposium Book which is available online by clicking here.

"What makes this year's symposium different from its predecessors is the inclusion of more presentations, more indications and more advances in R&D and commercialization. All signal that the pace of progress in our field is escalating."
- Professor Wladyslaw M. Gedroyc, Honorary Symposium President

Monday October 15

Brain Session
Moderators: Jin Woo Chang, MD, PhD; W. Jeffrey Elias, MD

Uterine Fibroids Session
Moderators: Young-Sun Kim, MD; Elizabeth Stewart, MD

Tuesday October 16

Emerging Applications Session
Moderators: Andreas Melzer, MD; Bradford Wood, MD

Breast Tumors Session
Moderators: Wilbert Bartels, PhD; Hidemi Furusawa, MD

	Mark Hurwitz, MD, Mattias Matzko, MD, Gail ter Haar, PhD and Carl Catalano, MD are among the experts who will discuss their focused ultrasound experience and opinions during symposium panel discussions

Uterine Fibroid Site Success
(Monday, October 15 - 5:15 – 6:00 PM)

Approved worldwide, focused ultrasound therapy for uterine fibroids poses challenges and opportunities for clinicians. Best practices will be discussed by: Andrew Dobrotwir, MD; Gina Hesley, MD; Young-Sun Kim, MD; Mattias Matzko, MD; Jaron Rabinovici, MD; Steve Raman, MD; Elizabeth Stewart, MD; Sang-Wook Yoon, MD; Harsh Rastogi, MD

Ultrasound vs. MRI Guidance
(Tuesday, October 16 – 8:00 – 8:45 AM)

Which guidance modality is best suited for various focused ultrasound applications? This timely and lively debate will feature: Christian Chaussy, MD; Yael Inbar, MD; Clare Tempany, MD; Gail ter Haar, PhD; Jean-Francois Aubry, PHD

Prostate Controversies
(Tuesday, October 16 – 4:45 – 5:30 PM)

Focused ultrasound has a substantial track record as a prostate cancer therapy, yet questions remain about patient selection, treatment goals and quality, and extent of existing experience. Discussing these issues will be: Andreas Blana, MD; Christian Chaussy, MD; Louise Dickinson, MD; Mark Hurwitz, MD; Peter Scardino, MD

Bone Metastasis
(Wednesday, October 17 – 9:45 – 10:30 AM)

What is the role of focused ultrasound in managing patients with bone metastases? Is there an economic justification for focused ultrasound in the age of single-fraction radiotherapy? Insights will be offered by: Carlo Catalano, MD; Pejman Ghanouni, MD; Mark Hurwitz, MD; James Larner, MD

	Sunday keynoter - Medical device innovator and Segway inventor, Dean Kamen will speak at the Welcome Reception

Evening receptions on Sunday, October 14 and Tuesday, October 16 are expected to be well-attended and help fulfill one of the major aims of the 3rd International Symposium on Focused Ultrasound - spark new collaborations and foster information-sharing within the focused ultrasound community.

Sunday's Welcome Reception
(6:00 – 8:00 PM) will be highlighted by a keynote talk by Dean Kamen, one of the international leaders in medical device innovation and inventor of the Segway.

Incubator for collaboration - For many attendees, the evening poster session was “the most valuable” part of the 2010 Symposium. Highly interactive, it became an instant incubator for creating new collaborations and partnerships. Expanded in terms of time and posters, this year’s session is expected to turbo-charge networking and collaboration within the focused ultrasound community.

Tuesday's Poster Session and Reception
(6:00 – 9:00 PM) will spotlight the work of the 2012 Young Investigators and give symposium attendees an opportunity to interact with 80+ poster presenters, who will cover a broad range of research.

"The symposium is an important vehicle for disseminating knowledge and sharing ideas, the most important role is to serve as an incubator to foster collaboration – collaboration being the ultimate force multiplier for human capital. The Tuesday evening poster session will be a great opportunity to establish new partnerships and collaborations."
– Neal F. Kassell, MD, Chairman, Focused Ultrasound Foundation

	Lunchtime discussions during the 2010 Symposium were engaging and thought-provoking. This year’s program features an expanded list of topics.

Lunchtime breaks on October 15-17 have been extended to enable symposium attendees to eat and then join a variety of interactive discussion sessions. Topics are:

Special discussion

The Realities of a Payer Environment
(Monday, October 15)
Brent O'Connell, MD Chief Medical Officer, Argenta Advisors, will discuss the important role that payers play in making decisions that affect the reimbursement and adoption of new medical technologies. He will talk about the expectations payers have for evidence to support new treatments. He will share insights into the reimbursement challenges for focused ultrasound treatment of uterine fibroids, the impact of these challenges on future uses and what can be done to improve the outlook for broad reimbursement and access to focused ultrasound.

Indication discussions

Brain Advanced Topics
(Monday, October 15)

• MRI as an alternative to CT to assess skull geometry and plan refocusing in MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS)
• Model predictive filtering for large coverage 3D imaging of transcranial MRgFUS procedures
• Combined MRI and US guided Focused Ultrasound in the Brain
• Towards experimental validation of MR-ARFI Aberration Tomograph

Prostate Case Studies
(Tuesday, October 16)

• Near-Total Gland Ablation of Locally Confined Low and Intermediate Risk Prostate Cancer Using Magnetic Resonance Guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery (MRgFUS)
• Preliminary clinical experience of treatment low-risk prostate cancer with the use of the ExAblate® Magnetic Resonance guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery (MRgFUS)
• MR-guided Focused Ultrasound Treatment in Patient with Organ-Confined Prostate Cancer: An Initial Experience
• Feasibility Study to Evaluate the Safety and preliminary Effectiveness of Focal MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery (MRgFUS) for Locally Confined Low-Risk Prostate Cancer: The First North American Experience

Regulatory discussions

• Design considerations for technical and preclinical studies (Monday, October 15)
• Tips for designing your first pilot study (Tuesday, October 16)
• Advice for planning and running an FDA pivotal study (Wednesday, October 17)

Vendor presentations