Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Neurologists at Florida Atlantic University have unveiled a new research tool combining focused ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging to fight complex neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
The new platform was announced this week at FAU's NeuroInnovate Center in Boca Raton, Fla., as its creators hailed it as a "global first" in combining quickly emerging focused ultrasound technology with powerful MRI capabilities into a "bench-to-bedside" research and training tool designed to accelerate new discoveries for using ultrasound in the battle against complex neurological diseases.
Focused ultrasound is a non-invasive technology that uses an acoustic lens to concentrate multiple intersecting beams of ultrasound on a target deep in the body with extreme precision and accuracy.
At FAU, the new tool is being positioned to help scientists and educators tap its potential to temporarily open the blood-brain barrier in patients, allowing the introduction of drugs targeting neurological diseases directly into the brain.
Gregg Fields, the university's vice president for research, said the NeuroInnovate Center platform melds together state-of-the-art pre-clinical and clinical MRI systems from a trio of manufacturers including GE Healthcare, NordicNeuroLab and Bruker BioSpec.
