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by always_swapping 2387 days ago
It seems that 29 centers in the US do this type of FUS treatment commercially as listed on the FUSF website.

Any focused ultrasound tech has potential to gain wide acceptance but it is mostly the imaging component (MRI guided in most cases) that hold it back due to costs and availability.
2 comments
pstuart 2387 days ago
Thanks, I skimmed too quickly :-). Time to do further research, you know, for a friend.
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always_swapping 2387 days ago
Best of luck for your friend. I've first hand witnessed FUS in neurological applications and believe it is a game-changer.
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stevenjohns 2387 days ago
Finasteride (and other DHT inhibitors) is an option also worth looking into.
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pstuart 2385 days ago
Yes, but it also has some significant side effects too.

Pro: hair growth. Con: decimated libido.

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1_over_n 2387 days ago
Stupid question, could it be guided with something lower tech like ultrasound itself rather than MRI?
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always_swapping 2387 days ago
There is work being done in the area but the interesting part is that the MRI isn't only used for its direct imaging but also the ability to use it as a very expensive thermometer[1].

Not every procedure lends well to alternative imaging modality (Brain surgery is one) but ultrasound guided FUS is really where there is potential to increase adoption.

[1] http://rsl.stanford.edu/kim/Overviewpages/PRF.html

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1_over_n 2386 days ago
Found a good paper here outlining MR vs US (see table 2).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3064817/

The "expensive thermometer" point is interesing. Cant we develop a cheaper one?

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always_swapping 2386 days ago
Good paper, but it focuses on cancer applications but it would be a disservice to not point out the strides that HIFU is making in drug delivery[1], neurosurgery, and neuromodulation[3].

The (un)fortunate point of MRI thermometry is that is not only very effective at reading temperatures, but it can also produce thermal dosage maps that help in characterizing tissue leisioning (the exact response of HIFU ablated tissue is still be debated). On top of that you also get traditional MRI imaging essentially for free.

[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-25904-9

[2] https://www.fusfoundation.org/diseases-and-conditions/neurol...

[3] https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8925600

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1_over_n 2386 days ago
Thank you for this. I will read these later!
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