China reports early progress in using sound waves to stimulate damaged brains.Magnific

Key Takeaways

  • The technique uses magnetic resonance imaging to identify specific areas of the brain for stimulation, particularly the thalamus.

  • This structure acts as a central relay between different neural networks and plays an important role in consciousness, sensory processing and communication across the brain.

  • The approach is based on the idea that stimulating disrupted neural networks could help restore some of the activity associated with conscious behaviour.

Chinese researchers are testing whether focused ultrasound can help restore consciousness in patients with severe brain injuries, adding to a growing international effort to use sound waves to stimulate deep brain structures without surgery.

A team involving the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology has used targeted ultrasound pulses to stimulate brain regions associated with awareness and communication. The technology was presented at a brain-computer interface industry conference in Shenzhen, where researchers highlighted a potential medical application beyond the field’s better-known efforts to connect brains with computers and robotic systems.

According to Chinese state media, one patient who had spent three months in a coma after abrainhaemorrhage regained the ability to speak, eat independently and walk with assistance following a month of ultrasound treatment and rehabilitation.

Ultrasound targets deep brain structures without surgery

The technique usesmagnetic resonanceimaging to identify specific areas of the brain for stimulation, particularly the thalamus. This structure acts as a central relay between different neural networks and plays an important role in consciousness, sensory processing and communication across thebrain.

Researchers then direct focused ultrasound pulses towards the selected regions. Unlike conventional approaches involving implanted electrodes or invasive surgery, the method is designed to reachdeep brainstructures from outside the skull.

The approach is based on the idea that stimulating disrupted neural networks could help restore some of the activity associated with conscious behaviour. This is particularly relevant to patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness, including those who remain in minimally conscious or vegetative states following traumatic injuries, strokes or other neurological events.

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In a preliminary study conducted with Kunming Medical University, 24 patients with chronic disorders of consciousness received three 20-minute ultrasound sessions per week over four weeks. Chinese media reported that 13 of them showed improvements in conscious behaviour.

Early findings need larger controlled trials

The results follow a peer-reviewed case study published by the same research group in Frontiers in Psychiatry in February. The paper tracked one patient treated with focused ultrasound and documented progressivebehaviouralimprovements, with the patient eventually emerging from a minimally conscious state.

Researchers in the US are pursuing a more extensive clinical assessment. Amulticentretrial led by the University of California, Los Angeles, is recruiting 60 patients with severe brain injuries. It includes a sham-stimulation control group, allowing investigators to compare patients receiving actual ultrasound treatment with those undergoing a simulated procedure.

Focused ultrasound is attracting attention because it can influence brain activity without requiring implanted hardware. That makes it a potential tool for neurological research and treatment, although questions remain about the optimal stimulation parameters, patient selection, treatment duration and long-term effects.

The development also signals a broader effort to create less invasive ways of interacting with the brain. While some BCI projects focus on translating neural signals into commands for computers orroboticdevices, ultrasound-based approaches could potentially stimulate neural activity or enable new forms of communication with brain tissue.

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China reports early progress in using sound waves to stimulate damaged brains.Magnific

Key Takeaways

  • The technique uses magnetic resonance imaging to identify specific areas of the brain for stimulation, particularly the thalamus.

  • This structure acts as a central relay between different neural networks and plays an important role in consciousness, sensory processing and communication across the brain.

  • The approach is based on the idea that stimulating disrupted neural networks could help restore some of the activity associated with conscious behaviour.

Chinese researchers are testing whether focused ultrasound can help restore consciousness in patients with severe brain injuries, adding to a growing international effort to use sound waves to stimulate deep brain structures without surgery.

A team involving the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology has used targeted ultrasound pulses to stimulate brain regions associated with awareness and communication. The technology was presented at a brain-computer interface industry conference in Shenzhen, where researchers highlighted a potential medical application beyond the field’s better-known efforts to connect brains with computers and robotic systems.

According to Chinese state media, one patient who had spent three months in a coma after abrainhaemorrhage regained the ability to speak, eat independently and walk with assistance following a month of ultrasound treatment and rehabilitation.

Ultrasound targets deep brain structures without surgery

The technique usesmagnetic resonanceimaging to identify specific areas of the brain for stimulation, particularly the thalamus. This structure acts as a central relay between different neural networks and plays an important role in consciousness, sensory processing and communication across thebrain.

Researchers then direct focused ultrasound pulses towards the selected regions. Unlike conventional approaches involving implanted electrodes or invasive surgery, the method is designed to reachdeep brainstructures from outside the skull.

The approach is based on the idea that stimulating disrupted neural networks could help restore some of the activity associated with conscious behaviour. This is particularly relevant to patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness, including those who remain in minimally conscious or vegetative states following traumatic injuries, strokes or other neurological events.

More from Science

See AllScienceA mathematical property gives quantum skyrmions an unexpected survival advantageScienceFish switch leaders 2.8 times a second to stay in sync, reveals a virtual reality studyScienceScientists show how graphene could be used to build solar cells without siliconScienceInvisible light cracks 60-year-old quantum puzzle in superconductor whirlpoolsScienceWorld’s fastest compact X-rays let US team capture atomic changes in trillionths of a second

In a preliminary study conducted with Kunming Medical University, 24 patients with chronic disorders of consciousness received three 20-minute ultrasound sessions per week over four weeks. Chinese media reported that 13 of them showed improvements in conscious behaviour.

Early findings need larger controlled trials

The results follow a peer-reviewed case study published by the same research group in Frontiers in Psychiatry in February. The paper tracked one patient treated with focused ultrasound and documented progressivebehaviouralimprovements, with the patient eventually emerging from a minimally conscious state.

Researchers in the US are pursuing a more extensive clinical assessment. Amulticentretrial led by the University of California, Los Angeles, is recruiting 60 patients with severe brain injuries. It includes a sham-stimulation control group, allowing investigators to compare patients receiving actual ultrasound treatment with those undergoing a simulated procedure.

Focused ultrasound is attracting attention because it can influence brain activity without requiring implanted hardware. That makes it a potential tool for neurological research and treatment, although questions remain about the optimal stimulation parameters, patient selection, treatment duration and long-term effects.

The development also signals a broader effort to create less invasive ways of interacting with the brain. While some BCI projects focus on translating neural signals into commands for computers orroboticdevices, ultrasound-based approaches could potentially stimulate neural activity or enable new forms of communication with brain tissue.

Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.

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Terms of Use

and

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0

COMMENT

Subscribe to

Today!

Access to exclusive content, expert insights and a deeper dive into engineering and tech. No ads, no limits.

Explore Now!

By

Bojan Stojkovski

Bojan Stojkovski is a freelance journalist based in Skopje, North Macedonia, covering foreign policy and technology for more than a decade. His work has appeared in Foreign Policy, ZDNet, and Nature.