Is ultrasound now used to cure diseases? Let's talk about this latest technology (Focused Ultrasound)!

When we think of an ultrasound scan, most of us think of that beautiful black-and-white picture of a baby in the womb during pregnancy, right? But, imagine, instead of taking pictures of the body using ultrasound sound waves, you would be surprised, wouldn't you? Yes, that's the latest and most amazing medical technology we're talking about today. It has brought new hope not only to brain diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, but also to serious diseases like cancer.

What is Focused Ultrasound?

Simply put, this is like when we were kids, we used a sunglasses lens to focus the sun's rays and burn paper. But here we don't use heat, but harmless sound waves.

In a normal scan, sound waves are scattered throughout the body and create a picture. But in the Focused Ultrasound method, thousands of sound waves are very precisely directed to a very small target, about a millimeter, inside the body. This allows us to make the desired change only in that targeted area without harming anywhere else in the body. It can be to destroy tissue, or it can be to stimulate a certain process. Although this is like surgery, it is actually a minimally invasive treatment because it is done without using a knife.

Does this help with Alzheimer's disease?

Alzheimer's is a very unfortunate disease that causes gradual memory loss. There is no cure for it yet. The main reason is the difficulty in delivering the medication to the brain.

There is a natural protective wall around our brain called the "Blood-Brain Barrier" . Its job is to prevent germs and toxins in the blood from entering the brain. This is a very important protection. But the problem is, because of this protective wall, the drugs given for Alzheimer's are also blocked from entering the brain.

In patients who have tried this method in research, this protective wall has closed again within a few hours without any damage. That is a great success. Some scientists believe that by opening the Blood-Brain Barrier in this way, without medication, the body's own immune system will be able to enter the brain and help remove harmful deposits called amyloid that cause Alzheimer's disease. Although these are still in the research stage, they hold great hope for the future.

Is there a permanent solution to Essential Tremor?

Essential tremor is a neurological condition that affects many people as they age, especially those with uncontrollable tremors in the limbs. It can be so severe that even simple tasks like drinking a cup of coffee, writing, or eating can be difficult.

Rich Pauly, 83, had to stop drawing and shaving altogether because of this condition. He received this focused ultrasound treatment.

How is this treatment done?

1. Target identification: First, an MRI scan is used to pinpoint the exact location of the tiny nerve cells in the brain that are sending out the wrong signals that cause these tremors.

2. Treatment: A special helmet-like device is then attached to the patient's head, through which focused ultrasound waves are directed only to the small area that has been detected.

3. Result: The energy of those sound waves heats up only the tissue that is giving off the wrong signal and makes it inactive. It's like cutting off a circuit that is working incorrectly.

During the treatment, doctors took Rich out of the MRI machine, had him draw a circle, and continuously checked how much his tremor had decreased. Two hours later, at the end of the treatment, Rich was able to write and draw without trembling again. "I can now eat breakfast with a spoon and without a bib. That makes me happy," he said.

Help in the fight against cancer?

Cancer cells are very cunning cells. They are very good at hiding from our own immune system. New immunotherapy drugs help the immune system recognize these hidden cancer cells.

But sometimes, especially in cases like breast cancer, that medication alone may not be enough. The latest thing researchers are trying is using focused ultrasound along with immunotherapy.

Here, focused ultrasound is used to destroy a few cells on the surface of the cancer. This causes a small swelling (inflammation) there. This is like a warning signal. Seeing this signal, the immune system recognizes that "there is a problem here" and starts attacking the cancer. This is also something that is still in the research stage, but it is very promising.

Many more future hopes

The potential of this technology is not limited to the brain and cancer. Scientists are already researching how it can be used for a variety of diseases.

All of this is still in the clinical trials stage. That is, the safety and effectiveness of these treatments are being confirmed using volunteer patients. It is because of the patients who participate in such trials that our children and future generations will have the opportunity to receive such advanced treatments in the future.

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