Researchers at King's College London have secured £688,820 in funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to advance pioneering 3D transcranial ultrasound technologies for non-invasive brain stimulation.
Brain regions responsible for memory, sleep, mood and movement are located deep beneath the cerebral cortex and remain largely inaccessible to non-invasive technologies. As a result, research in these areas has been limited by a dependence on invasive surgery or imaging that shows associations rather than causation, hindering understanding of normal brain function and neurological disease and slowing the development of effective treatments.
The BBSRC grant will support the acquisition of the NeuroFUS 3D system, an innovative ultrasound platform that uses focused sound waves to non-invasively stimulate deep brain regions. Integrated with King's 7T MRI scanner, the technology will enable researchers to investigate the neural circuits involved in sleep, memory, emotion and reward, while also exploring the potential of ultrasound to facilitate targeted drug delivery to the brain.
The platform will be the first of its kind in the UK and only the second worldwide. Equipped with dual-array "cross-beam" technology, it can deliver a compact, near-isotropic 3mm3 focal point, enable three-dimensional beam steering and rapidly switch between multiple brain targets without requiring repositioning, capabilities not available in existing UK systems.
The project brings together researchers from across King's College London including Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine researchers Dr Ines Violante, Dr Antonios Pouliopoulos, Professor Shaihan Malik, Dr Sharon Giles and Doctor Ricci Hannah and Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience researchers Dr Will Lawn and Dr Paul Shotbolt.
I'm thrilled King's will be home to this technology. We have a rich critical mass of expertise here in ultrasound physics, neuromodulation and imaging, that makes this the ideal place for equipment built for multimodal research. This system will let us understand fundamental brain processes in both animals and humans and translate that understanding into new, non-invasive approaches to influence brain function."
Dr Ines Violante (Project Lead), School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences
Beyond supporting a single research programme the platform will function as a shared national research facility, providing access to advanced technology and specialist training for researchers at King's and institutions across the UK.
The project is supported by industry partner Brainbox Ltd and collaborators from universities and research institutions nationwide, who have outlined a wide range of potential applications for the technology.
Looking ahead, the platform could create new possibilities for delivering drugs directly to the brain and developing non-invasive treatments for neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. It also offers the prospect of less invasive therapeutic options for patients, reducing reliance on implant-based interventions.
At the same time, it will provide industry partners with a unique environment in which to develop and assess emerging neuromodulation and drug delivery technologies before they progress to clinical testing.
