The University's Magnetic Resonance Guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery Center - one of the world's most advanced ultrasound facilities - will open its doors for the first time today.
University Radiation Oncology Prof. James Larner, Radiology Prof. Alan Matsumoto and Biomedical Engineering Prof. John Hossack will outline the Center's specific research plans and explain the new technology at a scientific symposium held this morning at Jordan Hall.
"MRgFUS is the marriage of two medical technologies: magnetic resonance imaging and focused ultrasound," Neuroscience Prof. Neal Kassell said. "Just as a magnifying glass can be used to burn a hole in a leaf, focused ultrasound can focus multiple thousands of beams with extreme precision and accuracy on a one millimeter target."
Each beam enters the body at a different point, without damaging the tissue it passes through, meeting at the target. Using the new MRI technology, surgeons will be able to eliminate any abnormality with the ultrasound beam through non-invasive procedures.
The ultrasound procedure is so simple, in fact, that Center spokesperson Rolf Taylor said the Center generally likes to omit the word "surgery" from its title.
The Center previously received a $3.1 million grant to make it the first of three centers endorsed for the next two years by the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation. These centers will emphasize research, clinical treatment, training and education for focused ultrasound procedures, Taylor added.
"What's special about U.Va is that it's ahead of the curve," he said. "[It] is joining the leading edge of this non-invasive technology."
Beginning in October, MRgFUS will be used as protocol treatment for women with uterine fibroids instead of painful hysterectomies. Rather than spending two weeks recovering from the invasive surgery, patients will "be back at work the next day," Kassell said.
MRgFUS also will be offered on a clinical trial basis to alleviate pain related to pregnancies and bone tumors. By January, Kassell said he hopes the procedure will be extended to metastatic cancer, Parkinson's Disease, brain tumors and fertility issues as well.
These treatments, he said, will likely become mainstream during the next three to five years.
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