Ultrasound on the brain

Focused ultrasound therapy has a lot to offer – it can non-invasively deliver targeted energy deep into the body, with high levels of precision. Adding MR imaging enables real-time guidance and visualization of heating and ablation effects. And while the technique may not traditionally be associated with treatments of the brain, according to Kullervo Hynynen of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Canada, focused ultrasound could prove a perfect fit for treating a wide range of brain diseases.

At the SPIE Medical Imaging conference, held this week in San Diego, CA, Hynynen explained how focused ultrasound can achieve targeted ablation through the skull. "For many years, people believed it was not possible to use focused ultrasound in the brain," he told the assembled delegates. Problems arise when the ultrasound beam traverses the skull, as this defocuses the beam, as well as causing the skull to heat up. "So in early research, the skull bone was removed," he noted.

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