Feasibility of noninvasive cavitation-guided blood-brain barrier opening using focused ultrasound and microbubbles in nonhuman primates.
Authors: Tung YS, Marquet F, Teichert T, Ferrera V, Konofagou EE
In vivo transcranial and noninvasive cavitation detection with blood-brain barrier (BBB) opening in nonhuman primates is hereby reported. The BBB in monkeys was opened transcranically using focused ultrasound (FUS) in conjunction with microbubbles. A passive cavitation detector, confocal with the FUS transducer, was used to identify and monitor the bubble behavior. During sonication, the cavitation spectrum, which was found to be region-, pressure-, and bubble-dependent, provided real-time feedback regarding the opening occurrence and its properties. These findings demonstrate feasibility of transcranial, cavitation-guided BBB opening using FUS and microbubbles in noninvasive human applications.
Introduction
Purpose
Drug delivery with BBB opening
Study Objective
To demonstrate the feasibility of noninvasive transcranial, cavitation-guided blood-brain barrier opening in nonhuman primates using focused ultrasound with microbubbles and passive cavitation detection.
Animal model / Human subject
nonhuman primate, not specified, not specified, not specified
MRI or image guidance method
Passive cavitation detector confocal with the FUS transducer (cavitation-guided)
Outcomes and Safety
Summary of Outcomes
Transcranial focused ultrasound combined with microbubbles noninvasively opened the blood–brain barrier in nonhuman primates, with successful cavitation-guided openings dependent on brain region, acoustic pressure, and microbubble parameters.
Duration of biological effect
not reported
Safety-related matter
No adverse effects are reported; the study emphasizes using a passive cavitation detector to provide real-time feedback on bubble behavior during FUS-mediated BBB opening, implying a safety-monitoring approach for cavitation-guided procedures.
Brain Region
Ultrasound Parameters
Ultrasound instrument
not reported
FUS Frequency
not reported
FUS Intensity
not reported
FUS Pressure
not reported
FUS Mode
not reported
Pulse duration
not reported
Duration of a single FUS session
not reported
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