Growing evidence suggests that Transcranial Focused Ultrasound can be used to treat several neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease.
What is focused ultrasound?
In medical imaging, ultrasound allows us to see inside the body by detecting what bounces back. tFUS takes this same safe, non-invasive technology and uses it differently. Instead of creating images, we focus the energy at a precise spot in the brain to achieve beneficial biological effects.
ULTRASOUND IMAGING
Waves dispersing and bouncing back
Same safe and non-invasive technology, different use
ULTRASOUND THERAPY
Waves converging to one focal point
How can Focused Ultrasound treat Alzheimer’s?
The Stars of Your Brain
When you think of your brain at work, you picture neurons: remarkable cells that fire signals, allowing us to think, remember, feel, move… basically everything that makes us who we are. In the brain, they're the performers holding the spotlight and earning all the applause.
Neurons
But no great performance happens without an amazing crew working behind the scenes.
The Team Working in the Backstage
The stagehands, the cleaners, the maintenance team.
Glial cells makes sure everything in your brain runs smoothly.
Every single day, they:
Sweep away the waste neurons leave behind: toxic proteins, cellular debris, the byproducts of a busy brain
Put out small fires before they spread: managing inflammation
Run the overnight cleaning system: your glymphatic network, which flushes waste while you sleep
Glial cells
Oligodendrocytes
Microglias
Astrocytes
Ependymal cells
Without them? The show can't go on.
What Happens in Alzheimer's Disease
In Alzheimer's disease, the brain's glial cells become severely dysfunctional. They can no longer keep up with their critical maintenance work.
Toxic proteins, beta-amyloid and tau, accumulate faster than glial cells can clear them, forming the plaques and tangles that define Alzheimer's pathology. Chronic inflammation spreads throughout the brain, damaging healthy tissue. The glymphatic system, responsible for flushing waste, slows down.
As this toxic environment builds, neurons begin to die. Their connections weaken and break down. The result is the progressive memory loss and cognitive decline that devastate patients and families.
The Effects of Focused Ultrasound
Improved homeostasis
Increased ability to remove toxic proteins
Reduced inflammation
Increased plasticity