The Focused Ultrasound Foundation and Royal Philips have entered into a public-private collaboration with The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.
The partnership will create a focal point for ultrasound therapy research at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and The Royal Marsden in London under the international Focused Ultrasound Foundation Centres of Excellence Programme. The new initiative will create a state-of-theart resource for clinicians and scientists working on high intensity focused ultrasound therapy, developing clinical evidence in oncology and establishing best practices, treatment standards and protocols. Focused ultrasound concentrates ultrasound energy with high precision on target tissue in the body to thermally destroy tissue. The technology is coupled with image guidance to identify, target and track the treatment in real time. The initiative will launch this autumn with a clinical trial to evaluate treatment of bone metastases in cancer patients. A similar centre was established at the University of Virginia in 2009 to advance the use of focused ultrasound, with an emphasis on brain disorders.
