Ultrasound helmet for deep brain stimulation

History

2025: Product Announcement

In early September 2025, British specialists from University College London and Oxford University announced the development of an ultrasound system capable of accurately stimulating deep brain regions without surgery. This opens up new avenues for neurological research and treatment of ailments such as Parkinson's disease.

The device is a special helmet with 256 elements that direct focused ultrasound beams to certain areas of the brain to increase or decrease neural activity. In addition, the system includes a soft plastic face mask designed to keep the head in a stationary position, which helps to accurately transmit ultrasonic waves to the desired areas.

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Фото: medicalxpress.com

It is claimed that the new ultrasound apparatus is able to affect deep parts of the brain without surgery. At the same time, doctors can target areas that are about 1000 times smaller in size than those available to conventional ultrasound systems, and 30 times smaller compared to areas covered by other devices for deep ultrasonic stimulation. Experiments on volunteers have shown that the developed helmet is able to change neural activity exactly in given areas.

This achievement opens up opportunities for both neuroscience research and clinical treatment. For the first time, scientists can non-invasively study causal relationships in deep brain zones that were previously available only by surgery, says senior study author Professor Bradley Treeby of University College London.

In perspective, the technology is expected to be able to dramatically change the approach to treating neurological and psychiatric disorders such as Parkinson's disease, depression and essential tremor. The system provides unprecedented accuracy of exposure to specific areas of the brain that play a key role in the development of these diseases.^[1]

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