# Real-time monitoring and treatment evaluation of MR guided focal ultrasound-mediated non-thermal ablation of brain tumors

> **NIH NIH R21** · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · 2022 · $220,061

## Abstract

There is a clear and urgent unmet clinical need for non-invasive, non-ionizing and non-chemo-toxic
treatment options for patients with brain tumors. The long-term goal of this proposal is to develop non-
thermal ablation (NTA) using phase shift microbubble-aided Magnetic Resonance guided Focused
Ultrasound (MRgFUS) into a new non-invasive treatment option that will provide brain cancer patients with
increased survival rates and decreased side effects. The overall objective of this application is to (i) develop
novel Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) based methods for real-time monitoring and guidance of the non-
thermal ablation process; and (ii) adapt a recently developed and validated voxel-wise in vivo MRI to
histopathology registration pipeline to brains, and use it to develop and verify imaging biomarkers which can
acutely predict long-term tissue non-viability. The rationale for this project is that a means for non-invasive
real-time monitoring which directly image the effect of the treatment on the tissue of interest, together with a
thorough understanding of non-thermally induced lesion progression and prediction of long-term tissue
nonviability are necessary to facilitate safe and timely translation of non-thermal MRgFUS ablation of brain
tumors to large animal models and ultimately to the clinic. We will achieve this in two specific aims; 1)
Develop innovative MRI-based approaches for direct real-time monitoring of tissue of interest during non-
thermal ablation, and evaluate them based on real-time applicability and sensitivity to acutely detect lesion
formation in a rat brain tumor model; 2) Adapt an MRI to histopathology registration pipeline and use it to
gain understanding about lesion progression and to develop imaging biomarkers for acute prediction of
long-term tissue non-viability. The research proposed in this application is innovative, in the applicant’s
opinion, because it will develop sensitive approaches for real-time monitoring of the lesion progression of
FUS non-thermal ablation, and will use a MRI-to-histology registration pipeline to develop understanding
about lesion progression and develop imaging biomarkers to predict tissue nonviability. Ultimately, this novel
non-invasive treatment modality has the potential to provide the tens of thousands of patients diagnosed
with brain tumors each year with a safe an efficient treatment option.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10511064
- **Project number:** 1R21EB033638-01
- **Recipient organization:** UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
- **Principal Investigator:** Henrik Carl Axel Odeen
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $220,061
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-01 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10511064

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10511064, Real-time monitoring and treatment evaluation of MR guided focal ultrasound-mediated non-thermal ablation of brain tumors (1R21EB033638-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10511064. Licensed CC0.

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