Curing with Sound

In this episode of Curing with Sound, we meet Melissa McGinnis, an essential tremor patient whose life was transformed through focused ultrasound treatment. Melissa endured decades of progressive tremors that impacted every aspect of daily life since her diagnosis as a child–a rare occurrence for those with the condition. After learning about focused ultrasound during its clinical trials in 2012 a...

In this episode of Curing with Sound, we speak with Patrick Hope, Executive Director of AdvaMed's Medical Imaging Division, about the critical but often unseen world of medical technology policy and advocacy that makes innovative treatments like focused ultrasound accessible to patients. Patrick shares how AdvaMed, an advocacy organization for the med tech industry, collaborates on initiatives to...

In this episode of Curing with Sound, we explore how focused ultrasound is being studied as a treatment for depression and anxiety, told through the perspectives of both a leading researcher and a veteran who experienced it firsthand. Noah Philip, MD, is a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University's Alpert Medical School and a leading expert on focused ultrasound neuromodulati...

In this episode of Curing with Sound, we speak with Bill Traynor, a Canadian adventurer whose life shifted dramatically when he was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), a neurodegenerative disorder with an average life expectancy of just two to five years. Once enjoying high-impact activities like skydiving, race car driving, and scuba diving, Bill's active lifestyle came to an abrupt halt. ...

In this episode of Curing with Sound, we speak with Rosie Xing, PhD, Managing Director of Global Planning, International Marketing, and Business at Chongqing Haifu Medical Technology, a world leader in noninvasive focused ultrasound systems. Founded in 1999 by Professor Zhibiao Wang, Chongqing Haifu has revolutionized treatment for patients across 400 medical centers worldwide, with their technolo...

In this episode of Curing with Sound, we hear the remarkable story of Monica Russell, who has lived with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) for nearly 30 years. Diagnosed at age nine, Monica pursued a wide range of conventional and alternative treatments before participating in a focused ultrasound clinical trial at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto. Following two noninvasive treatments, she...

In this episode of Curing with Sound, we speak with Shiro Horisawa, MD, Director of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery at Tokyo Women's Medical University, who discusses innovative applications of focused ultrasound technology for treating dystonia and other movement disorders. Dr. Horisawa shares insights from his extensive clinical experience, including over 1,500 stereotactic brain surger...

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately one in eight men will be diagnosed with a prostate condition during their lifetime. Focused ultrasound offers a noninvasive, radiation-free treatment option for prostate conditions and has been approved in more than 50 countries, including the United States. In this episode of Curing with Sound, we explore focused ultrasound for prostate canc...

In this episode of Curing with Sound, we speak with Eli Vlaisavljevich, PhD, an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Virginia Tech and a renowned innovator in histotripsy, the first completely noninvasive and nonthermal ablation method for treating cancer.  The conversation explores histotripsy's expanding applications across multiple conditions, from its FDA-approved...

In this episode of Curing with Sound, we hear from Paul Sayer, a prostate cancer survivor from the United Kingdom, whose life was transformed by focused ultrasound treatment. Diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer in 2018 and initially advised to undergo surgery, Paul took the initiative to research alternative treatments. His search led him to focused ultrasound, a noninvasive option that offe...

In this episode of Curing with Sound, James Mahoney, PhD, associate professor and neuropsychologist at West Virginia University, discusses the use of focused ultrasound for addiction treatment. Dr. Mahoney and the team at the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute are using neuromodulation to target the nucleus accumbens - the brain's reward center - to help patients with severe opioid use disorders w...

In this episode of Curing with Sound, Zhen Xu, PhD, the Li Ka Shing Endowed Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan, discusses histotripsy. Dr. Xu and her colleagues developed histotripsy, the first noninvasive, nonthermal ultrasound ablation technique that received FDA approval for liver tumor treatment in 2023. Her work has led to multiple clinical trials on histotripsy...

In honor of Essential Tremor Awareness month, this episode of Curing with Sound, features Michael Werner, a healthcare attorney, who has lived with essential tremor most of his life. After years of struggling with increasingly debilitating tremors that affected daily activities like eating and cooking, he chose to have a noninvasive focused ultrasound procedure. Michael's story highlights the crit...

This episode of Curing with Sound features Elisa Konofagou, PhD, the Robert and Margaret Hariri Professor of Biomedical Engineering and professor of radiology at Columbia University , who is a pioneer and leading expert in focused ultrasound. Dr. Konofagou discusses her important research using focused ultrasound to open the blood-brain barrier, the development of portable therapeutic ultrasound d...

In this episode of Curing with Sound, we talk with Suzanne LeBlang, MD, a neuroradiologist and Director of Clinical Relationships at the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, who offers unique insights into how this technology is reshaping the future of medicine. She shares her experience as an early adopter of focused ultrasound following its FDA approval to treat uterine fibroids in 2004 and dives deep...

In this episode of Curing with Sound, Lynn Dengel, MD, a surgical oncologist at UVA Health, discusses her groundbreaking clinical trial combining focused ultrasound with immunotherapy to treat patients with advanced melanoma.  She shares insights into how this Foundation-funded trial – which is still enrolling patients – could help those who don't benefit from standard immunotherapy alone. Key poi...

In this episode of Curing with Sound, Robert Palmer shares his transformative experience with focused ultrasound for prostate cancer. Robert details his procedure, which, unlike traditional treatments, allowed him to avoid overnight hospitalization and return to normal activities within ten days. Now cancer-free, Robert is a passionate advocate for focused ultrasound technology and has spoken to U...

In this special episode of Curing with Sound, Foundation team members share an overview of the advancements in focused ultrasound over the past year and provide a look at what’s ahead for the field in 2025. From groundbreaking clinical applications to increased global adoption, this episode highlights the field’s remarkable growth and its impact on patients and animals alike. The discussion covers...

John Dutton is a patient with both Parkinson's disease and Multiple Sclerosis. In this episode, John shares how focused ultrasound treatment dramatically improved his quality of life by virtually eliminating his Parkinson-related tremors. He discusses his progression of symptoms, details his focused ultrasound procedure, and encourages others to explore this treatment as a viable option for managi...

In this episode of Curing with Sound, John Lukens, PhD, a Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Virginia, shares his groundbreaking research on the connection between the immune system and the brain in combating neurological disorders. He discusses the role of focused ultrasound in enhancing immunotherapy and opening new treatment possibilities for conditions like Alzheimer's, ALS, and br...

In this episode of Curing with Sound, three leading experts in focused ultrasound technology share their groundbreaking work in pancreatic cancer treatment. Dr. Feng Wu from Oxford University, Dr. Jae Young Lee from Seoul National University Hospital, and Dr. Joan Vidal-Jové from Barcelona's Comprehensive Tumor Center discuss their innovative approaches to treating one of medicine's most challengi...

In this compelling episode of Curing with Sound, Rima Youssef shares her transformative journey battling severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) since childhood. Learn how a focused ultrasound clinical trial at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center offered hope when traditional treatments failed, leading to a remarkable turnaround in Rima's life. Rima's story is a testament to the potential of focu...

In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Greg Czarnota, a senior scientist and radiation oncologist at Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto, discusses his innovative research using focused ultrasound in breast cancer treatment. Dr. Czarnota shares promising results from his phase I clinical trial using focused ultrasound-stimulated microbubbles to enhance radiotherapy in patients w...

In this episode of Curing with Sound, Jane Metcalfe, entrepreneur, editor, and co-founder of Wired magazine, shares her insights on the intersection of technology, biology, and healthcare. She explains her role as co-chair of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation’s Council and her passion for advancing this groundbreaking noninvasive technology. Metcalfe emphasizes the potential of focused ultrasound...

In this episode, we meet Bobby Krause, a former college athlete and sales executive who was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's disease at age 42. Bobby candidly discusses his struggle with debilitating tremors that impacted his ability to engage with his family and perform at work. After experiencing severe side effects from medications, Bobby turned to focused ultrasound treatment for help.  ...