Algorithm-controlled focused ultrasound system uses microbubbles to open a pathway for a powerful immunotherapy to reach brain tumors
Associate Professor Costas Arvanitis and mechanical engineering Ph.D. student Hohyun "Henry" Lee with their closed-loop controlled focused ultrasound system. The system uses ultrasound-induced microbubbles to help a powerful immunotherapy target brain tumors and a custom algorithm to continuously fine tune the bubbles for maximum impact. (Photo: Candler Hobbs)
“Closing the loop” has become one of the jargony cliches of the business world. But in the world of cancer immunotherapy, closing the loop could be an innovation that unlocks powerful therapies for hard-to-treat brain cancers called glioblastomas.
Researchers at Georgia Tech and Emory University have developed a system that uses ultrasound-induced microbubbles to help a powerful immunotherapy target brain tumors and a custom algorithm to continuously fine tune the bubbles for maximum impact.
Their closed-loop controlled focused ultrasound system proved effective in boosting survival rates in mouse models, including eradicating the entire tumor in at least one case. They described their approach Nov. 18 in the journal Science Advances.
