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Focused ultrasound, or FUS therapy, is a non-invasive therapeutic technology that uses ultrasonic energy to target tissue deep within the body without the need for incisions or radiation. Currently, this technology is being researched as a way to target specific areas of the brain involved in neurological disorders in order to modulate or ablate this tissue.
Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE), is the most common type of focal epilepsy, where the epileptogenic zone is located in one specific part of the brain. In TLE, this epileptogenic region often is the hippocampus, which is an important structure in memory formation and spatial navigation. In this structure the excitatory neurons are overactivated, resulting in seizures. Using FUS we can specifically target this location in order to modulate these neurons and suppress the seizures.
In the mouse model we use a miniaturized FUS device, the PhoCUS device, to stimulate specific targets. We can integrate this stimulation technique together with measurement techniques like EEG monitoring and fiber photometry in order to investigate the effects of ultrasonic stimulation on brain activity and the activity of neurons in mice.
In patients with refractory epilepsy we study whether low-intensity focused ultrasound can modulate brain excitability. In our first clinical experiment in patients, we aim to replicate findings previously observed in healthy volunteers, where focused ultrasound was shown to influence cortical excitability.
Using each patient’s MRI, we individually identify the target region for stimulation with FUS. In this experiment, this target is the primary motor cortex, more specific the area involved in finger movement. We then assess whether this stimulation changes brain excitability using electrophysiological measurements, including electroencephalography (EEG) and motor evoked potentials (MEPs). By comparing the effects of FUS with placebo (sham stimulation), we aim to determine whether this FUS protocol produces a measurable and reproducible inhibitory effect on brain activity. This work aims to provide important evidence for the potential of FUS as a future non-invasive neuromodulation strategy for epilepsy.
Professor Robrecht Raedt, PhD, is leading the preclinical 4Brain research lab, with a main focus on new treatment techniques as a treatment for various neuropsychiatric disorders (epilepsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis, glioblastoma).
