Pre Clinical Research

Thrombolysis for Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Stroke 

Hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes constitute the third most frequent cause of death in the United States, affecting 700,000 patients. For ischemic stroke, MRgFUS is being investigated to liquefy clots confined inside a blood vessel, which can then dissipate through the normal circulation. MRgFUS may also be beneficial in the treatment of hemorrhagic stroke where an already clotted hemorrhagic stroke might be dissolved using focused ultrasound to relieve intracranial pressure.


Targeted Drug Delivery 

The non-ablative potential of focused ultrasound to open the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and deliver therapeutic drugs to the central nervous system (CNS) in a reproducible and controlled manner represents an extraordinary development and one with tremendous potential. It could be and enabling vehicle that will make the brain accessible to a whole family of therapeutic drugs for many indications. Several areas for research include the use of microbubbles for enhancing the ability of focused ultrasound to increase BBB permeability and use of nanoparticles as drug delivery vehicles in combination with high intensity focused ultrasound.